[Call to Order]
[00:00:10]
WELCOME EVERYONE TO AUSTIN, IS D'S BOARDROOM FOR THE JOINT SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING.
TODAY'S MEETING IS BEING BROADCAST LIVE ON AIS S D TV CHANNEL 22 ON SPECTRUM, AND, UM, CHANNEL 99 ON AT AND T UVERSE AS THE BOARD PRESIDENT FOR AUSTIN, I S D.
I WILL SERVICE TODAY'S PRESIDING OFFICER.
I CALL THE MEETING OF THE JOINT SUBCOMMITTEE TO ORDER AT 11:38 AM AND, UM, CAN WE JUST TAKE A MOMENT AND GO AROUND AND Y'ALL CAN INTRODUCE YOURSELVES.
HI, TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER PRECINCT TWO BRIDGE AND SHAY.
UH, RYAN AL ALTER, AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT FIVE SANCHEZ.
TRAVIS COUNTY HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COUNTY EXECUTIVE.
UM, AUSTIN, I S D, INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS AND POLICY OVERSIGHT.
I WAS A PROUD MEMBER OF THIS COMMITTEE LAST YEAR.
I'M NOT TECHNICALLY ON THIS COMMITTEE THIS YEAR.
UM, BUT GIVEN THE TOPICS Y'ALL WILL BE DISCUSSING TODAY, I DECIDED TO TO CRASH THE PARTY.
I'M ALLISON TER, COUNCIL MEMBER REPRESENTING DISTRICT 10.
AND I'M JEFF TRAIAN, COUNTY COMMISSIONER OF PRECINCT ONE.
AND I'M TRUSTEE SEPATA FOR DISTRICT TWO.
AND I'M ART SINGH AUSTIN, ID BOARD PRESIDENT AGAIN.
SO WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT TODAY.
SO OUR FIR I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE RIGHT.
NO ONE'S HERE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
[II. Approval of Minutes]
OUR FIRST ITEM IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FOR FEBRUARY 17TH, UM, 2023 FOR THAT MEETING.DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE APPROVAL? ALL RIGHT.
SO WE HAVE A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER SHAY AND A SECOND BY TRUSTEE SEPATA.
UM, IS, UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING, RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND.
THE PO THE, UH, MOTION, UH, PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.
[III. JSC Purpose and Plan]
THE AGENDA IS THE JOINT SUBCOMMITTEE PURPOSE AND PLANNING.AND WE'VE SET ASIDE ABOUT 45 TO 50 MINUTES FOR THE MEMBERS, UM, THAT ARE HERE IN THIS ROOM TO DIS AND, OH, I'M SORRY, I FORGOT.
UH, COUNCILMAN, UM, JOSE VELAZQUEZ.
HE'LL BE JOINING US ON ZOOM SHORTLY, I BELIEVE.
SO, WE WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE SOME NEW MEMBERS ON THIS BOARD, INCLUDING MYSELF.
AND, UM, THIS GROUP REALLY BRINGS A VARIETY OF STRENGTHS AND PASSIONS AND INTERESTS.
UM, WE'RE ALL HAVE THIS COMMON GOAL OF MAKING OUR COMMUNITY, UM, REALLY A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE AND, AND WORK.
AND WE EACH RAN FOR OFFICE WITH A CERTAIN PURPOSE AND CERTAIN GOALS AND MINDS.
AND NOW WITH EACH OF OUR, OUR ENTITIES GET TO SPEND A COUPLE OF HOURS TOGETHER EVERY, EVERY FEW WEEKS, AND REALLY WANT US TO TAKE A MOMENT TO REFLECT AS WE ARE IN A DIFFERENT TIME PERIOD.
WE HAVE, UM, LIKE I SAID, THREE, I BELIEVE THREE OR FOUR NEW MEMBERS OF THE JOINT SUBCOMMITTEE.
UH, WE'RE IN A CERTAIN POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT.
THERE'S A LOT GOING ON, AND WE HAVE A REALLY UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY, I THINK, WITH THIS JOINT SUB SUBCOMMITTEE TO DO SOME POWERFUL WORK.
AND IF IT'S OKAY WITH, WITH YOU ALL, I WOULD LOVE TO TAKE SOME TIME FOR US TO REALLY THINK ABOUT WHAT THE PURPOSE IS OF THE JOINT SUBCOMMITTEE.
WE DO HAVE BYLAWS, OF COURSE, SO THERE IS A PURPOSE WRITTEN OUT.
BUT FOR US, WHAT WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE? UM, WHAT TOPICS DO WE WANNA FOCUS ON? AND WHAT LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT DO WE WANNA HAVE ON THESE DIFFERENT TOPICS? SO I WANNA JUST START OFF WITH THINKING ABOUT WHAT THE PURPOSE IS OF THE JOINT SUBCOMMITTEE.
AND I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO HAVE SOME HISTORICAL, UM, PERSPECTIVE FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT HAVE BEEN ON THIS COMMITTEE FOR A WHILE, AND JUST SHARE, LIKE, WHAT DO YOU SEE HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE, LIKE, THE HIGHLIGHTS AND, AND THE WAYS THAT THIS COMMITTEE HAS SERVED A GOOD PURPOSE.
SO I'LL OPEN THE FLOOR TO ANYBODY WHO WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK.
UM, APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION.
AND IF I COULD JUST ADD BY WAY OF BACKGROUND, UM, THAT AS THE, THE FOLKS WHO'VE BEEN ON THE COMMITTEE, UM, THE LONGEST FOR EACH RESPECTIVE GROUP PLUS, UM, THE CHAIR FOR A I S D COMMISSIONER, SHAA, MYSELF, AND, UM, PRESIDENT SING MET AND, AND WE'RE, YOU KNOW, DID SOME INITIAL BRAINSTORMING AND REALLY WE'RE ALL IN AGREEMENT THAT THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY THAT WE WANTED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF, UM, FOR US TO, TO RETHINK
[00:05:01]
AND TO THINK MORE, THINK CREATIVELY ABOUT HOW WE WANT TO USE THIS FORUM, WHAT THE BEST USE WOULD BE FOR THIS FORUM.AND I THINK, UM, I'M REALLY EXCITED TODAY TO TALK ABOUT WHAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED AS A COMMITTEE BECAUSE, UM, AS MANY OF YOU MAY KNOW, THE COUNTY JUST DETERMINED THE SECOND TRANCHE OF THEIR ARPA DOLLARS YESTERDAY.
AND A GOOD PIECE OF THAT HAD TO DO WITH CHILDCARE RESOURCES.
UM, AND I'LL LET COMMISSIONER SHAY AND COMMISSIONER TRILLIAN SPEAK TO THE, TO THE DETAILS.
UM, BUT PART OF THAT WORK THAT LED TO IDENTIFYING WHAT WE NEEDED TO FUND CAME OUT OF WORK THAT THIS SUBCOMMITTEE DID.
WE HAD A WORKING GROUP ON CHILDCARE, COMMISSIONER TRILLIAN, MYSELF, UM, TRUSTEE BOSWELL AT THE TIME WERE ON THAT.
UM, AND THIS WAS BEFORE THE CITY HAD OUR ARPA DOLLARS AS WELL, WAS DURING COVID.
WE WERE REALLY TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW, HOW WE COULD SUPPORT THE CHILDCARE AREA, THE CITY.
WE WERE ABLE TO, TO, TO DEDICATE, UM, 11 MILLION IN ARPA.
THE COUNTY DID, UM, FIRST TRANCHE AND THEN THEY JUST DID A SECOND TRANCHE AND A ISDS ALSO BEEN LOOKING AT HOW THEY CAN SUPPORT CHILDCARE.
AND I THINK THAT'S ONE EXAMPLE OF WHERE WE'VE, WHERE WE'VE WORKED, UM, TOGETHER WELL IN THE PAST.
CAN I ASK A QUESTION? OF COURSE.
DO YOU MIND PRESSING YOUR BUTTON THOUGH? OH, OKAY.
CAN YOU, UM, SAY A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHERE THAT MONEY WENT TO? WELL, WHAT, WHAT DID Y'ALL DO? I MEAN, THAT'S GREAT, THAT'S A BIG INVESTMENT.
WHAT DID THAT GO FROM CHARLES COUNTY? THE, THE TOTAL MONEY THAT Y'ALL WERE TALKING ABOUT BEFORE? YEAH, IT WAS 52 MILLION, AND I CAN'T RECITE IT ALL FROM MEMORY, BUT, UM, A SUBSTANTIAL, UM, AMOUNT WENT TO, UH, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND, UM, A PARTICULAR FOCUS.
AND, AND COMMISSIONER TRAVEN CAN SPEAK MORE TO THIS.
AND ACTUALLY, IF I, IF IT'S ALL RIGHT.
IF, IF YOU DON'T MIND, I'D LIKE TO SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO THE GENERAL PURPOSE OF THIS MEETING, AND THEN WE CAN GET INTO MORE DETAILS ON THE, HOW WE, UH, VOTED TO ALLOCATE THE FEDERAL FUNDS YESTERDAY.
BUT, UM, FROM OUR CONVERSATION, AS THE PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN ON THE JOINT COMMITTEE THE LONGEST, UM, I THINK THERE WAS A GENERAL SENSE THAT THERE'S HUGE VALUE IN HAVING ELECTED OFFICIALS FROM EACH OF OUR JURISDICTIONS GATHER ON A SOMEWHAT REGULAR BASIS, AND THAT WE SHOULD TRY AND MAXIMIZE THE IMPACT OF THAT.
NONE OF US HAS A LOT OF TIME IN OUR SCHEDULES.
WE'RE, WE'RE ALL GOING TO TOO MANY MEETINGS AND JUGGLING TOO MANY THINGS.
AND SO FOR THIS RARE OPPORTUNITY WHEN OUR THREE OVERLAPPING INSTITUTIONS, WHICH IT WAS FORMED YEARS AGO, BECAUSE WE ARE THE LARGEST GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES IN THE REGION WHOSE WORK OVERLAPS, WHETHER OR NOT WE EVEN SEE IT, WE SERVE MUCH OF THE SAME POPULATION.
WE DEAL WITH MANY OF THE SAME CRISES AND ISSUES.
AND, UM, I THINK WE CAN, WE CAN BE MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE, UM, IF WE'RE SUPER INTENTIONAL ABOUT TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW CAN WE BEST EITHER POOL OUR RESOURCES, SUPPORT EACH OTHER, OR PURSUE POLICIES THAT REALLY, UM, MAGNIFY THE, THE OPPORTUNITY THAT WE HAVE AS THE LARGEST OVERLAPPING GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES.
SO THAT WAS KIND OF THE CONTEXT FOR US WANTING TO HAVE THIS INITIAL DISCUSSION WHERE WE CAN JUST SORT OF BRAINSTORM ON WHAT, WHAT COULD WE DO THAT WOULD BE MOST IMPACTFUL.
AND I DON'T MEAN TO TAKE ANYTHING AWAY FROM THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST.
WE STARTED SEVERAL YEARS BACK.
AND AGAIN, THERE'S LOTS OF TURNOVER, BUT THAT, THAT NEWEST, UM, CONFIGURATION, PROBABLY FIVE YEARS AGO, MAYBE LONGER THAN THAT, DECIDED THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING WAS THE MAJOR ISSUE AND THAT WE ALL HAD PIECES TO CONTRIBUTE, UH, TO THE PUZZLE.
AND SO THERE WAS A BIG EMPHASIS ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING MM-HMM.
SO THERE'S BEEN REALLY IMPORTANT WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE IN THE PAST.
UM, BUT I THINK IT'S VALUABLE TO TAKE THIS TIME AT THE TOP OF THIS MEETING TO JUST, I DUNNO IF WE'RE CALLING IT A BRAINSTORMING SESSION OR WHAT, BUT TO TRY AND GET, UM, IDEAS FROM FOLKS ABOUT WHAT THEY THINK WE SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON THAT CAN BE MOST IMPACTFUL WITH THE, THE POWER OF THESE, OF OUR THREE GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES.
HAVING THE CHANCE TO SIT DOWN AND WORK TOGETHER AND, AND LOOK AT ADDRESSING PROBLEMS IN OUR REGION.
UH, THE OTHER, SOME OTHER THINGS, GOOD THINGS THAT I'VE SEEN COME OUT OF THIS COMMITTEE HAS BEEN, UM, SOME SUPPORT FOR OUR PARENT SUPPORT SPECIALISTS.
I KNOW THERE HAVE BEEN CONVERSATIONS HERE ABOUT THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT'S A GREAT VALUE TO OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, AND ALSO THE, UM, COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, RIGHT.
UM, THAT'S SOMETHING I'VE HEARD ABOUT.
UM, DO, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW THAT EMERGED FROM
[00:10:01]
THIS? WELL, A NUMBER, A NUMBER OF THINGS.UM, I THINK THAT IT'S, IT'S IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT PUBLIC POLICY DOESN'T HAPPEN IN A VACUUM OR IMPACT AN ENTIRE COMMUNITY IN A VACUUM.
SO, UH, THAT YOU HAVE THE POLICY MAKERS FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, THE CITY AND THE COUNTY WORKING TOGETHER, WHO ARE GENERALLY WORKING ON THE MOST, SHOULD BE WORKING ON THE MOST IMPORTANT COMMUNITY RELATED PROBLEMS ACROSS THE REGION.
UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT AND IT'S POWERFUL FOR US TO MEET TOGETHER.
YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU LOOK AT ONE OF THE LARGEST LANDHOLDERS IN, IN THE, UM, IN THE CITY, IT'S A I S D MM-HMM.
SO WHEN WE, WHEN WE SIT TOGETHER AND WORK TOGETHER, WE CAN TALK ABOUT, BECAUSE FOR US, WE DON'T HAVE A WORKFORCE UNLESS WE ARE ALIGNED WITH OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT MM-HMM.
UH, AND, AND, UH, I THINK THAT IN MANY INSTANCES, LIKE THE PANDEMIC, IT WAS THE CITY AND THE COUNTY WORKING TOGETHER, UH, TO MAKE, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE ABLE TO SERVE, UH, THOSE PARTS OF TOWN THAT HAVE BEEN UNDERDEVELOPED FROM THE STANDPOINT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE CLUBS.
AND, AND I THINK THAT OUR COMING TOGETHER SERVED A LOT MORE COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE HISTORICALLY BEEN UNDERSERVED.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE TOP CATEGORIES, WHERE WE SPENT, UH, WHERE WE DEDICATED OUR DOLLARS YESTERDAY, ONE AREA WAS EVICTION, UM, EVICTION PREVENTION, WHICH WAS OVER $5 MILLION.
ANOTHER AREA WAS FOOD ACCESS, JUST OVER $4 MILLION.
ANOTHER AREA CHILDCARE ASSISTANCE, ABOUT THREE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS.
UM, THEN WE ALSO LOOKED AT, UH, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BECAUSE, BECAUSE WE KNOW HOW CRITICAL THAT IS.
AND, AND I HOPE THAT IT IS THE WORK OF BODIES LIKE THESE WHO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN BRING WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BACK INTO THE SCHOOLS.
YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN I GREW UP, UH, WE HAD, WE HAD A SHOP SYSTEM WHERE A LOT OF FOLKS WENT TO SCHOOL A HALF DAY, WORKED A HALF DAY MM-HMM.
BUT THEY WERE TAUGHT HOW TO REBUILD ENGINES.
THEY WERE TAUGHT HVAC, ET CETERA.
HOW CAN WE BUILD A, A BETTER BRIDGE TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF OUR KIDS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN WORK HAVE ACCESS TO DO SO? AND THEN WE, UH, ALSO FOCUSED ON INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS INCLUDING, UM, YOU KNOW, WATER AND WASTEWATER DEVELOPMENT.
SO, UM, A LOT AND, AND, UH, ONE THING THAT I THINK THE CITY IS PROBABLY, UH, MOST INTERESTED IN IS THE JAIL DIVERSION CENTER THAT WE, THAT WE, UH, DEDICATED $8 MILLION TO.
SO THERE, THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT, THAT I THINK, UH, WE ALL HAVE AN INTEREST IN.
AND, AND HOPEFULLY AS WE WORK TOGETHER, WE CAN FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN BE EVEN CLOSER PARTNERS AND HEAL AND BUILD, UH, THE, UH, PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY THAT, THAT HAVE HAS, HAVE HISTORICALLY SUFFERED BECAUSE THEY'RE IN THE WRONG ZIP CODE AREA.
COMMISSIONER CHALL? YES, MEMBER.
I, I WANTED TO ADD ALSO THAT WE'VE BEEN, UM, WORKING WITH OUR STAFF ACROSS THE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS WITH RESPECT TO DEVELOPING OUR RESILIENCE HUBS.
UM, AND, AND THE AREAS THAT COMMISSIONER TRILLIAN MENTIONED WITH RESPECT TO COVID, UM, THINGS ALSO HAPPEN OUTSIDE OF THIS COMMITTEE BECAUSE OF THE RELATIONSHIP.
SO I THINK A LOT OF THE FOOD SUPPORT THAT THE CITY DID IN CONJUNCTION WITH SCHOOL DISTRICT CAME OUT OF CONVERSATIONS AND KNOWLEDGE THAT CAME FROM BEING IN THIS COMMITTEE, EVEN IF WE DIDN'T MEET AND, YOU KNOW, ARRANGE TO DO THAT.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S, IT'S VALUABLE BOTH WHAT WE DO IN THIS SETTING, BUT ALSO THE RELATIONSHIPS THAT GET BUILT AND THE KNOWLEDGE THAT WE HAVE ABOUT EACH OTHER'S ORGANIZATIONS AND, AND, AND HOW WE'RE WORKING AND WHAT WE'RE CONTRIBUTING.
UM, THE PRIMETIME, THE PARENT SUPPORT SPECIALIST VICTORY TUTORIAL, THAT WORK THAT WE DO, THE INTERNSHIPS, ALL OF THOSE THINGS HAVE BEEN REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, AND THEIR OPPORTUNITIES ALL OVER THE PLACE.
UM, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT FOR HOUSING, UM, WE ALSO WORKED ON THE GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION WORK AS WELL.
SO THIS IS, THANK YOU, UM, TO YOU, BOTH OF YOU, FOR SHARING YOUR, KIND OF WETTING OUR APPETITE INTO SOME OF THE TOPICS THAT WE COULD BE EXPLORING THIS COMMITTEE.
SO I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FUN TO, TO SORT OF MIX THINGS UP A LITTLE BIT, UM, AND SPEND A LITTLE TIME JUST, UH, I THINK EVERYBODY HAS
[00:15:01]
SOME POST-ITS NEAR YOU.TAKE A MOMENT INDIVIDUALLY TO THINK ABOUT WHAT TOPICS, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, HOUSING, CHILDCARE, WHATEVER THOSE BIG TOPICS ARE.
UM, AND FEEL FREE TO JUST WRITE THEM DOWN ON YOUR POST-ITS, I'LL GIVE YOU GUYS ABOUT THREE MINUTES TO DO THAT.
AND THEN ONCE YOU'VE DONE THAT, YOU CAN PUT THEM ON THIS BIG BOARD HERE.
THIS IS WHENEVER YOU'RE READY.
AND THEN WE'LL GROUP THEM TOGETHER, SEE WHAT, UH, WHAT DIFFERENT TOPICS EMERGE.
AND COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ, WE'LL JUST ASK YOU TO KIND OF PICK, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN, YOU CAN HELP HELP US WHEN WE GET TO THE DISCUSSION PORTION OF IT.
HE, HE CAN TEXT ME HIS, UH, POST-ITS I'LL.
FEEL FREE TO TEXT, UH, YOUR COLLEAGUE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER AND MADAM CHAIR.
UH, I, I JUST, UM, WE HAD EMAILED TO US THIS MORNING THE REVISED, UM, SPREADSHEET THAT LAYS OUT ALL OF THE FUNDING ALLOCATIONS THAT WE MADE YESTERDAY.
LIKE I SAID, IT WAS 52 MILLION, SO I DON'T HAVE TO REMEMBER THEM OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
I'M HAPPY TO SHARE THEM WITH, UH, WHOMEVER CAN SEND IT OUT TO THIS GROUP.
WHATEVER'S THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO DO THAT.
I CAN JUST FORWARD THAT EMAIL SO THAT EVERYBODY HAS THAT LIST.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT, UM, ONE OF THE STAFF MEMBERS MIGHT BE ABLE TO ASSIST WITH? SURE.
I'M JUST ASKING WHO I SHOULD SEND IT TO.
SO I'LL GIVE Y'ALL THREE MINUTES.
EVERYTHING WORKS WELL WHEN WE WORK WITH ED UHHUH
AND YOU'RE WANTING US TO JUST LAY OUT IDEAS THAT YOU'D, THAT WE'D LIKE, WE'D LIKE TO WORK ON OVER THE NEXT YEAR OR SO.
SO ONE TOPIC FOR POST-IT AND THEN YOU CAN JUST ON THAT BIG BOARD AS YOU, HOW MANY AM I LIMITED TO? NO LIMIT.
[00:23:47]
WONDER GREEN.[00:26:36]
OH, OKAY.WE'LL, WE'LL GET IT, WE'LL GET IT TO YOU.
SO, UM, I SAW SO MANY GREAT IDEAS HERE.
UM, SO I'LL SHARE WITH YOU A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT OUR CATEGORIES EMERG, WHAT CATEGORIES EMERGED.
SO IT SEEMS LIKE SOME OF THE BIGGIES WERE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU SAID SOMETHING ABOUT WORKFORCE.
YEAH, A LOT OF PEOPLE TALK ABOUT WORKFORCE.
UM, CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION, JOB TRAINING AND PLACEMENT.
UM, WE ALSO, I HAVE THIS SORT OF WORKFORCE ADJACENT, UH, PLACE HERE, WHICH I PUT THIS ONE, WHICH IS, OR ACTUALLY NO, I THINK TRACY SAPTA DID, WHICH WAS INCREASE THE SALARIES FOR PSSS TO $20 AN HOUR TO KIND OF MATCH WHAT THE CITY IS DOING.
UM, ALSO INCENTIVES TO BRING TEACHERS TO THE DISTRICT AND, AND JUST GENERAL STAFFING CHALLENGES, WHICH I THINK ALL THREE OF OUR ENTITIES ARE PROBABLY EXPERIENCING RIGHT NOW.
SO THEY'RE KIND OF RELATED THERE.
UM, ANOTHER BIG AREA OF COURSE IS HOUSING.
SO PROBABLY EVERYBODY PUTS SOMETHING ABOUT HOUSING, AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR PUBLIC EMPLOYEES.
THEN, UH, WE HAVE A BUNCH WITH CHILDCARE.
SO YOU CAN SEE A LOT OF PEOPLE TALKED ABOUT CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOL.
UM, AND THEN RELATED TO THAT IS AFTER SCHOOL AND SUMMER CAMPS AS WELL.
SO OUR KIDS HAVE A SAFE AND EDUCATIONAL PLACE TO BE WHEN THEIR, UM, YOU KNOW, THEIR PARENTS ARE WORKING.
DIVERTING THOSE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS FROM JAIL TO TREATMENT.
WHO SAID THAT? THAT'S A GOOD ONE.
IS THERE ANYTHING THAT EITHER OF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAY TO KIND OF EXPAND ON THAT? YEAH.
WELL, WE VOTED 8 MILLION, I THINK, IN CHANGE.
UHHUH,
UM, AND THAT CAN RELATIVELY EASILY ACCOMMODATE, UM, A POPULATION THAT IS, WHOSE MAIN ISSUE IS MENTAL HEALTH.
UM, AND IT WOULD INCLUDE BOTH, UM, UM, THE HOUSING COMPONENT FOR 30 TO 90 DAYS THAT THERE, THERE'D BE A, THERE'D BE ONE PORTION THAT WOULD BE EMERGENCY CRISIS AND THEN ANOTHER THAT WOULD INCLUDE RESIDENTIAL FOR 30 TO 90 DAYS.
WITH SERVICES TO SUPPORT PEOPLE TRANSITIONING OUT OF THAT.
STOKOWSKI FROM, UH, DELL MEDICAL, UH, LEAD A A, A PRETTY LARGE TASK FORCE LOOKING AT THIS ISSUE.
AND HIS RECOMMENDATION WAS THAT YOU NEEDED TO HAVE THIS KIND OF ALTERNATIVE PLACE WITH THE SERVICES CUZ IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE THE SERVICES, YOU WERE JUST CREATING ANOTHER JAIL.
UM, AND SO WE'RE GONNA BE PILOTING THAT, UM, STARTING FAIRLY SOON CUZ WE ALLOCATED THIS FEDERAL MONEY, UM, TO THAT PILOT.
AND WE'LL BE LOOKING FOR PARTNERS CUZ WE NEED TO PARTNER WITH LOTS OF ENTITIES IN THE COMMUNITY,
[00:30:01]
INCLUDING THE CITY, THE HOSPITALS, UM, UH, CENTRAL HEALTH AND LOTS OF OTHERS.IF, IF, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO, UH, TO RECOGNIZE THAT, THAT WE, UH, THAT WE DO NEED THE PROGRAMMING, BUT YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SEEN PROGRAMS THAT HAVE WORKED AT THE COUNTY.
THERE WAS A DWI COURT THAT WAS RUN BY JUDGE BENNETT.
AND, UH, PEOPLE WOULD BE SENT TO DETOX.
THEY WOULD BE GIVEN A COUNSELOR, UH, THEY WOULD BE PUT INTO 12 STEPS PROGRAMS AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS WERE GOOD.
BUT IF YOU DON'T HAVE HOUSING AND YOU DON'T HAVE JOB TRAINING, YOU DON'T PROVIDE THE STABILITY THAT ONE NEEDS.
YOU DON'T WANT TO DIVERT SOMEONE TO THE STREET.
YOU WANT TO DIVERT THEM TO A BED AND DIVERT THEM TO SERVICES.
AND THIS WOULD LAY A FOUNDATION FOR BUILDING OUT THAT INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE'VE GOT PART OF.
AND I THINK WE'VE GOT A, A, UH, GROUP OF JUDGES IN, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY THAT WOULD WORK WITH US, BUT WE HAVE TO BUILD OUT THE ENTIRE INFRASTRUCTURE IN ORDER FOR IT TO BE SUSTAINABLE.
UM, SO I'M GONNA MENTION A FEW OF THE OTHER THINGS HERE.
SO I FORGOT TO PUT A LITTLE CIRCLE AROUND THIS ONE.
THIS IS LIAM'S STRATEGY IN PARK SPACE.
SO THAT'S WHAT THIS LITTLE GUY IS RIGHT HERE.
UM, WE HAD A COUPLE PEOPLE TALK ABOUT DRUGS AND ADDRESSING THE OPIOID CRISIS, GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION.
AND THEN WE HAVE OF COURSE THE OTHER CATEGORY WHICH INCLUDED THINGS LIKE, UM, MORE COORDINATION OF MULTI-GENERATIONAL SUPPORTS, SUSTAINABILITY, HEALTHY EATING, AND FOOD, FOOD INSECURITY, EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESILIENCE.
ACTUALLY, TWO PEOPLE TALKED ABOUT RESILIENCE HUBS AND COMMUNITY SCHOOLS.
SO I'D LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT TO INVITE ANYBODY TO EXPAND A LITTLE BIT MORE ON ANYTHING IN HERE THAT, UH, THAT THEY SHARED OR IF YOU HAVE OTHER IDEAS THAT HAVEN'T BEEN MENTIONED YET, DO YOU WANNA EXPAND ON? SURE.
WE WERE TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SHARED USE SPACES, OUR PARKS AND, AND JUST OPPORTUNITIES.
AND THEN I, IT, IT, I'M KICKING MYSELF CAUSE I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THE EXAMPLE WAS, BUT I HAD SOMEONE IN THE DISTRICT WHO CAME TO ME AND SAID, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A SCHOOL AND WE'RE ALLOWED TO USE THE PARK FOR WHATEVER HOURS.
BUT THEN I, I THINK THEY SAID ON THE WEEKEND, WE CAN'T USE IT AND THIS IS WHEN, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD LIKE TO USE IT THE MOST.
SO JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE PROPERLY USING OUR SPACES AND VICE VERSA.
THERE'S A CITY SPACE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, AIS S D COULD BENEFIT FROM.
I THINK OUR OPEN SPACES, OUR GOOD OPPORTUNITIES FOR, FOR SHARING AND, AND COLLABORATING.
AND I FIRST TO ASK, DOES COUNCIL MEMBER VALE HAVE ANYTHING AS WELL OR DID HE TEXT YOU? I GOT IT.
CAN THEY HEAR YOU? I THINK SO.
CAN THEY HEAR ME? I DON'T THINK HE CAN HEAR YOU.
I'M, I'M GONNA TURN ON YOUR MIC IF YOU DON'T MIND.
UM, WHEN I WAS ON THE CITY COUNCIL IN THE EARLY NINETIES, WE DID A JOINT USE, UM, INITIATIVE, UM, THAT CAME OUT OF JOHN SHARP'S, UM, UH, PERFORMANCE REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HOW COMMUNITIES COULD, UH, COLLABORATE ON FACILITIES THAT WOULD BE JOINTLY USED BY THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND I THOUGHT IT WAS A BRILLIANT RECOMMENDATION.
UM, I HAD UNDERSTOOD AT THAT TIME THAT IT WAS THE SCHOOL DISTRICT'S POLICY TO, UM, WHEN BUILDING NEW SCHOOLS CREATE PARK SPACE THAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR THE WHOLE COMMUNITY.
SO I THINK IT WOULD BE, UH, GOOD TO UNDERSTAND.
HAS THAT POLICY CHANGED? UM, WELL, WELL, AND, AND JUST WHAT THE STATUS IS.
LIKE IF, IF A PARK IS CLOSED ON THE WEEKEND AT A SCHOOL THAT, THAT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE.
SO IT'D BE JUST GOOD TO KNOW WHAT THAT POLICY IS.
WELL, WELL, YOU KNOW, SHARP'S, A COUPLE OF SHARP'S POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS WERE PUT IN PLACE WITH PICKLE AND THEN WITH OVERTON AND, AND WHAT THE POLICY WAS AT THE TIME.
IF I RECALL WHAT THE POLICY WAS AT THE TIME, IF I RECALL, WAS ANYTIME THE SCHOOL WANTED TO BUILD A NEW SCHOOL BUILDING, UH, THAT IT WOULD COLLABORATE WITH THE CITY TO DETERMINE WHETHER THAT WAS A GOOD PLACE TO, UH, TO PUT A REC CENTER.
AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT PICKLE AND VIRGINIA BROWN, UH, WHEN, WHEN YOU LOOK AT OVERTON AND THE TURNER SPACE, UH, IT WAS DESIGNED TO, IF, IF, UH, IF THE CITY PUTS A LARGER RECREATION SPACE THERE, THEN THAT'S LESS OF AN INVESTMENT THAT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS TO MAKE.
AND IF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT PUTS A, A, UH, A COMMERCIAL KITCHEN THERE, UH, THAT IS LESS OF AN, AN INVESTMENT THAT
[00:35:01]
THE, UH, THE, UM, CITY WOULD HAVE TO MAKE IN THAT TYPE OF FACILITY.AND, AND THE, AND I THINK THAT IT HAS WORKED SPECTACULARLY WELL, UH, TO THE POINT WHERE WE HAVE BEEN ASKING SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE COUNTY TO GIVE THE SAME CONSIDERATION WHETHER, UH, THERE IS A SPACE IN A NEW SCHOOL WHERE WE CAN PUT, UM, AND, AND EXTEND THE, UH, THE, UH, OPPORTUNITY TO, TO BUILD A COMMUNITY CENTER OR REC CENTER OR WHATEVER YOU, WHATEVER YOU CALL IT.
BUT THAT I THINK HAS A REAL OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE OUR SCHOOLS COMMUNITY CENTERS INCENTIVES OF ACTIVITY, UH, FOR THE ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOOD.
HAVE TRUSTEE SAFA? SO I, I, UH, I PUT MY FIRST ONE AS WORKFORCE WORKFORCE BECAUSE, UM, I THINK THERE'S BEEN INVESTMENT FOR YEARS ON SOME PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE MENTIONED EARLIER, LIKE PRIMETIME AND PARENT SUPPORT SPECIALIST AND, AND, AND SOME OF YOUTH'S EMPLOYMENT IS SOME, ANOTHER, ANOTHER INVESTMENT THAT WE DO.
ALL THREE OF US HAVE BEEN DOING IT FOR YEARS, OVER 20 YEARS.
UH, BUT IT, IT'S KIND OF BEEN LIKE ITS OWN LITTLE THING.
IT HAPPENS IN THE SUMMER AND THEN, AND THEN THE STAFF START ALL OVER.
WELL, YOU KNOW, WHEN I STARTED HERE I WAS LIKE, HOW DO WE INTEGRATE MORE? HOW DO WE USE THAT PROGRAM MORE TO HELP OUR STUDENTS THAT THE SUMMER'S EMPLOYMENT WOULD BE THE STEPPING STONE AT NINTH GRADE TO BEGIN TO EXPLORE A JOB AND WHAT THAT WORLD OF WORK LOOKS LIKE.
SO BY THE TIME THEY GO, THEY'RE IN THE 12TH GRADE, THEY ALREADY HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT WORK IS, WHAT KIND OF JOBS, UH, SKILLS THEY KNOW OR DON'T KNOW, AND WHAT KIND OF, WHAT THEIR DREAM JOB IS GONNA BE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL.
SO THEN THEY'RE MORE INFORMED AND PREPARED BECAUSE THEY HAVE TAKEN OWNERSHIP OF THEIR SCHOOL SINCE THAT FIRST JOB EXPERIENCE SO THAT THEY'RE, UM, THEY KNOW IF THEY'RE GONNA GO TO A FOUR YEAR COLLEGE OR THEY'RE GONNA GO TO CAPITAL IDEA OR A CAPITAL IDEA IS HUGE BECAUSE IT IS FREE.
AND OUR STUDENTS WHO CANNOT OR DO NOT WANT TO GO TO FOUR YEAR COLLEGE CAN GO TO TWO YEAR COLLEGE FOR FREE AND GET ALL EXPENSES PAID AND THEIR SCHOLARSHIP MONEY, THEY CAN LIVE OFF OF THAT.
SO THAT AFTER, THAT'S WHAT I HAVE HEARD FROM SOME ALUMNIS FROM CAPITAL IDEA, THAT ONCE THEY DID THAT, THEN THEY SAID, OH, I WANNA GO AHEAD AND GO TO MY, GET MY MY BACHELOR'S.
SO, YOU KNOW, SO I THINK IT'S, WE'RE AT THE POINT I THINK WHERE WE NEED TO GO DEEPER AND HOW WE INTEGRATE WHAT WE'RE ALREADY INVESTING IN, UH, SO THAT WE CAN SEE THE FRUITS OF ALL THAT, ALL THAT WORK THAT'S BEEN THERE.
BUT IT'S KIND OF BEEN, UH, ON A, ON A STANDALONE, THE SAME THING WITH PRIMETIME AND, AND THE P PSS WORK.
SO I JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT, THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THIS YEAR AND, UM, AND I'VE GOT MS. HOWARD IS HERE BECAUSE, UM, UH, WE, UH, A I S D IS NOW HIRING 50 OVER 50 STUDENTS THIS SUMMER THROUGH SOME YOUTH EMPLOYMENT.
AND, AND SO, YOU KNOW, AND IT'S HELPING AGAIN.
AND THE BEAUTY OF IT IS, UM, THE MS. FAIN WHO IS OVER, WHO IS GONNA BE OVERSEEN, IT'S DOING INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS WITH EVERY STUDENT SO THAT THEY KNOW WHERE THEY ARE ACADEMICALLY AND HOW THIS WORK.
YOU KNOW, JUST TAKING IN TO SEE HOW THEIR JOB EXPERIENCE IS REALLY GONNA HELP ENERGIZE THEM TO DEVELOP THAT, THAT THRIVE FOR THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR.
SO I JUST WANNA TELL YOU THAT'S, THAT'S REAL EXCITING FOR ME TO SEE THAT HAPPENING AND, AND WE CAN CONTINUE TO GROW THAT AND BEGIN THINKING DEEP IN EVERYTHING THAT WE ALREADY PARTNERED IN TO SEE HOW WE CAN, UH, UH, AGAIN, EXPAND AND, UH, AND MAKE BIGGER THINGS HAPPEN.
THANK YOU TRUSTEE SAVA, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER VERY, UH, WHERE I WAS LARGELY WHERE I WAS GONNA GO, BUT THAT JUST THAT SOME OF THESE THINGS THAT NORMALLY WE WOULDN'T THINK OF AS CONNECTED, YOU KNOW, THINKING WORKFORCE AND YOUR AFTER SCHOOL OR SUMMER CAMPS, RIGHT.
IF IT, ESPECIALLY AT THE OLDER AGES WHERE YOU COULD HAVE, UM, EITHER AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS THAT ARE SOME FORM OF DEVELOPMENT OR JUST EXPOSURE TO VARIOUS AREAS.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE EASY ONE IS, YOU KNOW, OUR NEED FOR LIFEGUARDS, RIGHT? IF, IF THEY GO FROM SCHOOL TO GO BE LIFEGUARDS, THAT'S GREAT FOR CITY OF AUSTIN.
BUT, YOU KNOW, IF THERE ARE EITHER SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES OR AFTER SCHOOL OPPORTUNITIES TO GO EVEN BE EXPOSED TO WHATEVER THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS, YOU KNOW, I THINK OF THE THINGS THAT THE ENGINEERING, ALL THE ENGINEERING, UM,
[00:40:01]
THINGS.WE HAVE POSITIONS FROM OUR, OUR WATER UTILITY TO OUR ELECTRIC UTILITY, TO SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT, THAT WE CAN TIE, UH, OPPORTUNITIES AND, AND KIND OF TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE SITUATION.
DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO ADD? UM, I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THE SUSTAINABILITY QUESTIONS CUZ I THINK THERE'S SOME REAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO MAKE SURE THERE'S KNOWLEDGE ACROSS THE ORGANIZATIONS OF THE DIFFERENT SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS, UM, THAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, AND THEN INFORMATION I THINK WE MAY NEED AS A CITY TO KNOW HOW WE CAN BE MORE SUPPORTIVE AND KNOW WHAT THE HURDLES ARE.
I KNOW THAT HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS WITH COMMISSIONER SHAY ABOUT PURPLE PIPE, UM, FOR RECLAIMED WATER.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING WITH RESPECT TO SOLAR ENERGY REBATES, UM, BUT JUST GENERALLY THEY'RE PROGRAMS THAT YOU GUYS MAY BE DOING THAT WE MAY NOT BE AWARE OF THAT WE MIGHT WANT TO ADOPT.
UM, THAT I THINK WE COULD, WE COULD BE EXPLORING MORE, UM, THE WORK THAT YOU GUYS ARE TRYING TO DO WITH THE ELECTRIC BUSES.
WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT NO AUSTIN ENERGY IS PREPARED TO SUPPORT THAT.
UM, I THINK THERE'S SOME, SOME OPPORTUNITIES THERE, UM, THAT WE COULD REALLY CONSIDER.
UM, BECAUSE WE ARE SUCH LARGE LANDHOLDERS IN THE COMMUNITY, WE HAVE OUR OWN FACILITIES, WE CAN DEMONSTRATE HOW THINGS WORK.
THERE MAY BE, YOU KNOW, OTHER PURPLE PIPE OR WATER RECLAMATION PROJECTS THAT COULD BE DONE, YOU KNOW, WITHIN A SCHOOL SETTING ON THE PROPERTIES AS YOU'RE, AS YOU'RE GOING.
UM, I THINK THEY'RE, THEY'RE JUST SOME, SOME OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLABORATION THAT I'D LIKE TO SEE US DISCUSS AND, AND CONSIDER.
YEAH, JUST BUILDING ON THAT, UM, CUZ YOU MENTIONED A NUMBER OF THINGS.
THAT'S THINGS THAT ARE REALLY WHERE WE HAVE OVERLAPPING EITHER PROGRAMS OR INTERESTS, AND I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE A GOOD MECHANISM FOR EVEN KNOWING WHAT THOSE ARE MM-HMM.
UM, SO, AND THAT'S GONNA MEAN WE'LL HAVE A GREATER NEED FOR CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE WHEN THERE'S A, THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES WITH THE FEDERAL, UM, LEGISLATION THAT, THAT THE DEMOCRATS PASSED, I'LL JUST SAY, UM, AND PROVIDING A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF FUNDING FOR THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
BUT, UM, IT, IT IS, IT'S REALLY VALUABLE FOR US TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S, WHAT'S GOING ON IN EACH OF OUR RESPECTIVE JURISDICTIONS.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT STRIKES ME THAT IS AN OVER KIND OF UMBRELLA IMPACT TO ALL OF US IS THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE.
WHEN, UM, MARA HIT, IT AFFECTED EVERYBODY.
AND I THOUGHT AISD DID A GREAT, DID A GREAT JOB UPDATING PARENTS, KEEPING PEOPLE INFORMED ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH THE SCHOOLS SO THAT PEOPLE KNEW IF THEY HAD TO COME AND GET THEIR KIDS EARLY OR WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO BRING THEIR KIDS TO SCHOOL, THE, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT DAY OR THE FOLLOWING DAYS.
SO, UM, IT AFFECTS ALL OF US AND IT, AND IT, AND IT PRESENTS AS A, AN EMERGENCY ON OUR DOORSTEP EVERY TIME IT HAPPENS.
AND I JUST THINK THAT, AND I, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE ON THE RESILIENCE HUBS.
UM, AND I THINK WE SHOULD SPEND MORE TIME, WE HAVE THAT AS A WRITTEN THING THAT WE CAN LOOK AT AND ASK QUESTIONS IF WE, IF WE HAVE IT.
BUT, UM, I THINK THERE'S MORE THAT WE CAN DO ON THE PREPAREDNESS SIDE.
UM, WHEN I TOOK OFFICE, I STARTED LOOKING AT PROGRAMS OUT THERE THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO PIGGYBACK ON.
AND THE CLOSEST THING I COULD FIND WAS WHAT THEY DO IN JAPAN TO PREPARE COMMUNITIES FOR THE IMPACT OF EARTHQUAKES AND TSUNAMIS, WHICH ARE FREQUENT AND DEADLY THERE, BUT VERY FEW JAPANESE DIE FROM THEM BECAUSE THEY ALL KNOW WHAT TO DO.
AND THE INSTRUCTION FOR ANY OF OUR STATE DEPARTMENT PEOPLE IS FOLLOW WHAT THE JAPANESE DO.
THEY DON'T EVEN BOTHER TRYING TO GIVE THEM SEPARATE, YOU KNOW, TRAINING OR INSTRUCTION.
SO, UH, AND PART OF IT IS BECAUSE THEY, THEY START IN SCHOOL AND SCHOOL CHILDREN ON UP ALL KNOW WHAT TO DO.
SO I THINK THAT'S THE KIND OF THING THAT WE ARE GONNA HAVE TO START LOOKING AT BECAUSE WE WILL HAVE MORE AND MORE DISASTROUS WEATHER IMPACTS WITH GREATER FREQUENCY.
WE WON'T BE ABLE TO PREDICT WHAT EACH ONE OF THEM IS.
BUT IF THERE'S A, A COMMITMENT TO, UH, SOME LEVEL OF PREPAREDNESS THAT, UM, THAT THE COMMUNITY IS,
[00:45:01]
UH, TAUGHT OR IS MADE AWARE OF SO THAT PEOPLE CAN BE BETTER PREPARED WHEN THERE WILL BE THE INEVITABLE IMPACTS FROM EXTREME WEATHER.UH, AND I JUST THINK THERE'S, THERE'S, THERE'S SO MANY APPLICATIONS THERE, BUT IT'S SOMETHING WE ALL HAVE TO DEAL WITH.
IT DOESN'T DISTINGUISH BETWEEN A CITY OR A COUNTY OR A SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND IT'S AN EMERGENCY WHEN IT HAPPENS.
SO WE HAVE TO DROP EVERYTHING ELSE WE'RE DOING TO DEAL WITH THAT.
THE STANDARDIZED PROTOCOLS CAN BE LIFESAVING.
SO I'M GONNA SHIFT A LITTLE BIT.
UM, SO THANK YOU GUYS FOR DOING THIS.
AND WHAT WE CAN DO IS CAPTURE THIS IN A DOCUMENT AND MAYBE AT THE NEXT MEETING, OR BETWEEN NOW AND THEN THE NEXT MEETING WE'LL CONTINUE TO REFINE THIS AND THINK ABOUT WHERE WE WANNA BE SPENDING OUR TIME AS A GROUP.
UH, IN ADDITION TO THE TOPICS.
WHAT I HEARD FROM HEARING YOU ALL IS LIKE, THERE'S SORT OF DIFFERENT LEVELS OF OWNERSHIP THAT THE JS, UM, THAT THIS JSC WOULD HAVE ON WHATEVER IT IS, WHATEVER WORK IT IS WE DO.
I FEEL LIKE JUST IN THE FEW MEETINGS THAT I'VE PARTICIPATED IN, THEY'VE BEEN REALLY HELPFUL, UM, IN DIFFERENT WAYS.
SO ONE LEVEL THAT I SEE US SORT OF INTERACTING OR HELPING EACH OTHER ON IS JUST BASICALLY LIKE INFORMING EACH OTHER.
LIKE, HEY, THIS IS WHAT'S GOING ON, YOU KNOW, UM, IN, IN THE CITY, OR HERE'S SOMETHING THAT'S HAPPENING, YOU KNOW, IN THE DISTRICT.
I WANNA PUT THIS ON YOUR RADAR JUST AS A COURTESY, UM, AND THAT TYPE OF THING.
BUT THEN THERE MIGHT BE CATEGORIES OF, UM, SUPPORT WE CAN OFFER EACH OTHER, OR WE'RE JUST, UH, ASKING FOR HELP ON A VERY SPECIFIC INITIATIVE.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU'RE GONNA BE HEARING SOME STUFF LATER TODAY ABOUT, UM, WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE DISTRICT, AND THERE MIGHT BE A SPECIFIC ASK FOR HELP WITH SUPPORTING ONE OF OUR MIDDLE SCHOOLS, UM, AND THAT TYPE OF THING.
SO I KIND OF FEEL LIKE THAT COULD BE A REALLY USEFUL WAY FOR ALL OF US TO JUST SORT OF BE WORKING TOGETHER.
AND THEN THERE'S THIS OTHER CATEGORY WHERE WE MIGHT CREATE LIKE OUR OWN, LIKE IF THERE'S SOME ONE OR TWO THINGS FROM THIS LIST THAT REALLY EMERGE AS SUPER IMPORTANT, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, ENVIRONMENTAL, UM, SUSTAINABILITY OR, OR SOME OTHER THING THAT IT'S KIND OF LIKE OUR OWN SORT OF PROJECT WHERE WE'RE ALL SORT OF PUTTING OUR PUZZLE PIECES TOGETHER, SORT OF LIKE WE DO WITH THE RESILIENCE HUBS OR, YOU KNOW, UM, THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO I KIND OF THINK OF THAT AS, AS DO ARTIE.
UH, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA.
MAYBE WHAT WE CAN DO IS GET ALL OF THE CATEGORIES THAT ARE LISTED MM-HMM.
TO IDENTIFY INVESTMENTS THAT WE HAVE MADE IN THOSE AREAS MM-HMM.
AND SO THAT'S KIND OF LIKE THE WHOLE, THE ASSET.
UM, I'LL JUST USE THE TERM THAT I HEARD
WHERE CAN WE KIND OF, AND I THINK THAT WOULD APPLY PROBABLY TO SEVERAL OF THESE, MOSTLY WITH THIS CATEGORY OR WITH THAT CATEGORY.
BUT DOES THAT SOUND LIKE A GOOD ROADMAP FOR US GOING FORWARD? IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU GUYS, ANY SUGGESTIONS, IDEAS? I THINK IT WOULD REALLY HELP JUST, UH, FOCUS US AND GIVE US, UH, A BETTER SENSE OF WHERE THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES WORK THAT WE MAY NOT BE AWARE OF NOW.
SO, UM, YES, I THINK IT'S A, IT'S A GREAT FRAMEWORK FOR US TO BE THINKING THROUGH.
AND, AND I DO WANNA ADD THAT I'M NOT SURE THAT ALL OF THE DO WORK HAPPENS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE COMMITTEE.
UM, I THOUGHT IT WAS VERY USEFUL WHEN WE HAVE THE SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE THAT'S RIGHT.
AND, AND I'LL BE HAPPY TO TO TO WORK ON THAT ONE AGAIN.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT A LOT OF THE WORK HAPPENS NOT IN THIS MEETING IF WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA BE MOVING THE NEEDLE.
I THINK ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST IS THAT WE'VE COME TO RELY ON STAFF TO COME FORWARD WITH TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT, WHAT IT IS WE WANT TO KNOW WITHOUT GIVING THEM VERY MUCH GUIDANCE.
AND SO I THINK AS WE'RE WORKING AND WE'RE MAKING THIS COMMITTEE, UH, FUNCTION AT ITS OPTIMUM SO THAT WE CAN GET THE MOST OUT OF OUR TIME HERE, WE ARE ALSO GONNA HAVE TO THINK ABOUT HAVING THOSE COMMITTEES OR, YOU KNOW, HAVING, YOU KNOW, THE THREE OF US MEETING PERIODICALLY TO SAY, OKAY, THIS IS WHAT SHOULD BE ON THE AGENDA, WORKING WITH STAFF SO THAT IT'S NOT AS MUCH GUESSWORK ON THEIR PART AS TO WHAT WE WANT.
OR TAKING ONE COMMENT THAT WAS ONE SENTENCE AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT A PRESENTATION LOOKS LIKE.
THAT ALSO MAKES A LOT OF WORK FOR THE STAFF.
UM, AND IT DOESN'T GIVE THEM CLEAR DIRECTION AS TO WHAT IT IS THAT WE WANT.
AND I THINK WE CAN BE MINDFUL.
WE, WE HAVE GREAT STAFF WHO ARE COMING TO THESE MEETINGS AND HOPEFULLY THESE MEETINGS ARE ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO CONNECT, UM, OVER ISSUES.
UM, BUT WE SHOULD BE USING THOSE
[00:50:01]
RESOURCES TO THE MAXIMUM AGREE.AND, AND I THINK, UM, MAYBE WE TAKE IT A STEP FURTHER, UH, BY PUTTING A FORM TOGETHER THAT ALLOWS US TO DESCRIBE THE BACKGROUND AND DESCRIBE THE OBJECTIVE SO THAT WE CAN REALLY EXPLAIN WHAT IT IS WE'RE AFTER.
SO THAT HOPEFULLY, UH, THE RESULT OF THAT TYPE OF REQUEST WOULD BE A, A BASIC PROJECT PLAN.
JUST THAT IF WE WERE GOING TO DO THIS, WE WOULD HAVE TO DO A, B, C, D.
UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE OWN THE DATA FOR.
UH, IT'S GATHERED EVERY 90 DAYS SO THAT WE HAVE CLARITY ABOUT WHAT THE IDEA IS AND WHAT WE WANT, WHAT THE OBJECTIVES ARE, AND WHAT WE WANT THE OUTCOMES TO BE.
BUT, BUT THEN WE GIVE THEM THE INFORMATION THAT'S NECESSARY TO PUT A PLAN TOGETHER THAT WE WOULD LOOK AT AND SAY, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR, OR NOT SO MUCH.
SO WE'LL CAPTURE THIS, WE'LL TRY TO PUT SOMETHING TOGETHER FOR YOU ALL TO RESPOND TO AND CONTINUE WORKING ON AS WE REFINE THIS.
AND, UH, TRUSTEE SEPATA, ONE LAST COMMENT.
SO AS YOU DRAFT THIS, UH, AND PUT IT IN CATEGORY, MAYBE WE COULD ALL BE THINKING ABOUT WHICH COMMITTEE, YOU KNOW MM-HMM.
TO BE ON AND, AND, AND, AND NOTED ON THIS, SO THEN WE CAN BEGIN HAVING THOSE ME SUBCOMMITTEES.
THAT'S WHERE THE REAL WORK NEEDS TO HAPPEN.
UH, AND I THINK THOSE COMMITTEES COULD CREATE THEIR GOALS.
I, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW, WE HAVE TO HAVE A SCRIPTED GOAL CRITERIA, BUT THAT EVERY COMMITTEE'S GONNA BE DIFFERENT.
SO, UH, EACH COMMITTEE COULD REALLY WORK ON WHAT THOSE GOALS ARE AND HOW THEY WANT TO REACH IT AND WHAT, AND BRING IT BACK TO EVERYBODY ELSE TO, TO SEE WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT PEOPLE ARE.
BUT I THINK I'D LIKE TO MOVE ON STUFF.
I DON'T LIKE TO, THERE'S READING AND IT'S WAIT IN THREE MONTHS AND THREE MONTHS, UH, YOU KNOW, I WANNA SEE, I WANNA SEE MOVEMENT, I WANNA SEE ACTION.
AND SO, UM, I, I JUST LIKE TO ADD THAT PART THAT PEOPLE SIGN UP TO THE COMMITTEE THAT THEY'RE MOST INTERESTED IN.
SO WE'LL, UM, I'M LOOKING AT COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER AND COMMISSIONER SHAA, SO WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF WORK TO DO
UM, ALWAYS WANT TO DO THINGS WITH POST-ITS RIGHT.
TRUSTEE LUDO, SHE TAUGHT ME THIS APPROACH.
WE USE IT LIKE IN 90% OF OUR MEETINGS, I THINK.
UM, BUT IT'S BEEN VERY HELPFUL.
SO NEXT WE ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT A TOPIC THAT I THINK IS REALLY NEAR AND DEAR TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US.
AND, UM, AND I'M JUST SO EXCITED BECAUSE KATHY MAHO IS SOMEBODY WHO I'VE COME TO RELY ON AS AN EXPERT
AND I WILL OFTEN TEXT HER DURING MEETINGS AND BE LIKE, HEY, TELL ME, CAN YOU TELL ME THIS? OR GIMME THE STATISTIC.
[IV. Discussion: Child Care Needs – Child and Workforce Lens]
KATHY MCS HERE TO GIVE US, UM, REALLY THE, THE, THE SCOOP ON CHILDCARE NEEDS IN AUSTIN.UM, THERE'S ALSO A WORKFORCE LENS TO THIS THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
AND SO KATHY MCS IS THE VICE PRESIDENT OF SUCCESS BY SIX, WHICH IS PART OF THE UNITED WAY FOR GREATER AUSTIN, AND I BELIEVE SHE MIGHT BE GETTING HER PRESENTATION UP.
SO, UM, WE ARE VERY EXCITED TO HAVE, UH, TO HAVE HER HERE TODAY WITH US.
BY THE WAY, I BELIEVE YOU ALL GOT AN EMAIL THAT HAD A LITTLE VIDEO.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL HAD A CHANCE TO WATCH THAT, BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS VERY WELL DONE AND, UM, LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING MORE.
IT'S AN, IT'S AN HONOR TO BE HERE TODAY AND, UM, UH, AND AGAIN, A THANKS TO COUNTY COMMISSIONERS FOR YOUR VOTE YESTERDAY.
UM, AND THANKS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE TODAY.
I WANTED TO START WITH A LITTLE BIT OF LEVEL SETTING ABOUT THE EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION ECOSYSTEM.
AND IF YOU COULD GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, JUST FOR CONTEXT, UM, WE DO HAVE A ROBUST COMMUNITY-WIDE COALITION, THE SUCCESS BY SIX COALITION THAT HAS BEEN CONVENING SINCE 2012 TO ADVANCE GOALS AROUND EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION AND THE FULL ECOSYSTEM OF THE EARLY, EARLY CHILDHOOD SECTOR IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE ORGANIZATIONS LISTED ON THE FAR SIDE.
UM, THE, THOSE ORGANIZATIONS HAVE REPRESENTATION ON THE LEADERSHIP TEAM OF THE COALITION AND HELP SHEPHERD AND AND GOVERN THE STRATEGIC PLAN MOVING FORWARD.
AND WE WORK TO ALIGN RESOURCES WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY ACROSS THE CITY, COUNTY, AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO ADVANCE THE GOALS OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
UM, THE FIRST PLAN WAS LAUNCHED IN 2012, UM, PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC.
SOME OF THE RESULTS THAT WE'VE SEEN IN OUR COMMUNITY WERE INCREASING SCHOOL READINESS BY 10 PERCENTAGE POINTS OVER FIVE YEARS.
[00:55:01]
UM, PRE-K THREE PROGRAM IN AUSTIN, I S D WITH PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS, UM, WITH PHILANTHROPY SETTING UP THE CLASSROOMS AND THEN LEVERAGING STATE FUNDS TO OPEN THEM.AND THAT EXPANDED INTO A FULL PRE-K THREE PROGRAM.
WE'VE TRIPLED THE, OR CITY AND COUNTY, HAVE TRIPLED THEIR INVESTMENT PER LOW INCOME CHILD SINCE 2012, AND WE HAVE ONE OF THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGES OF HIGH QUALITY EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN THE STATE.
HOWEVER, JUST SOME STARK STATISTICS FOR YOU TO KEEP IN MIND.
28% OF THE CHILDREN UNDER AGE SIX IN TRAVIS COUNTY LIVE IN HOUSEHOLDS EXPERIENCING LOW INCOME.
THAT'S ABOUT 200% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL.
THAT'S 25,000 CHILDREN UNDER AGE SIX, AND 90% OF THOSE ARE CHILDREN FROM CHILDREN OF COLOR.
THE NEXT SLIDE SNOWS SHOWS A SNAPSHOT OF THE FRAMEWORK OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, THINKING ABOUT WHAT DO CHILDREN NEED IN THEIR FIRST FIVE YEARS TO ENTER SCHOOL HAPPY, HEALTHY, AND READY TO SUCCEED.
THEY NEED HEALTHY BEGINNINGS, ADEQUATE HEALTH AND MENTAL HEALTH CARE FOR THEMSELVES AND THEIR CAREGIVERS, SUPPORTIVE FAMILIES, PARENTS THAT HAVE EXPERIENCED EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES, RESOURCES TO BE THEIR CHILD'S FIRST AND BEST CAREGIVER, HIGH QUALITY CARE AND EDUCATION SETTINGS WHEN PARENTS ARE AT WORK.
AND THEN A SAFE AND STIMULATING COMMUNITY, THINGS LIKE PARKS AND LIBRARIES THAT ARE EQUIPPED TO MEET THE NEEDS SPECIFICALLY OF FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN.
IN OUR CONTEXT, BABIES ARE BORN LEARNING.
CHILDREN DO NOT BEGIN LEARNING WHEN THEY ENTER SCHOOL.
THEY ARE BORN LEARNING AND WHATEVER ENVIRONMENT THEY'RE IN.
THAT IS AN EARLY CHILDHOOD LEARNING ENVIRONMENT.
AND WE WANT ALL OF THOSE PLACES AND SPACES WHERE CHILDREN ARE CARED FOR, TO HAVE THE RESOURCES AND SUPPORTS AND CONNECTIONS NEEDED TO PROVIDE HIGH QUALITY EXPERIENCES THAT NURTURE THAT CHILD'S DEVELOPMENT.
AND YOU CAN SEE ON THIS SLIDE, UM, WE WORK WITH ORGANIZATIONS IN THE COALITION AND BRING TOGETHER GROUPS LIKE ANY BABY CAN, AON, BEYONCE, COMMUNITIES AND SCHOOLS ASPIRE PROGRAM, MORE OF A TWO-GEN FLAVOR OF PROGRAMS THAT DO HOME VISITING OR GROUP SETTING WORK WHERE, WHERE MOMS AND DADS AND, AND CHILDREN ARE TOGETHER AND BEING SUPPORTED.
AND THEN IN HIGH QUALITY CARE AND EDUCATION, WE THINK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT SETTINGS LIKE PRE-K, HEADSTART AND CHILDCARE AND ALL OF THOSE, UM, RECEIVE SOME ELEMENT OF FUNDED, FUNDED DOLLARS, VERY DIFFERENT KINDS OF RESOURCES AND HAVE DIFFERENT ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.
AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE INTERPLAY OF THESE BECAUSE IF WE BUILD OUT ONE SECTOR OF THIS ECOSYSTEM WITHOUT ADEQUATELY SUPPORTING ANOTHER, IT HAS UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.
SO NEXT SLIDE, A SNAPSHOT OF PRE-K IN OUR REGION.
UM, 80% OF ELIGIBLE CHILDREN ARE ENROLLING IN PRE-K FOUR.
SO WE HAVE FULL DAY PRE-K FOR FOUR YEAR OLDS.
AND WE KNOW AS FAR AS THE CHILDREN WHO ARE POTENTIALLY ELIGIBLE TO BE ENROLLED, WE'RE DOING A PRETTY GOOD JOB.
THOSE KIDDOS ARE IN THE PRO IN THE CLASSROOMS. DOES PRE-K FOUR MEAN, UH, STARTING AT AGE FOUR? OKAY.
FOUR BY SEPTEMBER, FIRST OF THE YEAR, THE SCHOOL YEAR.
AND THEY'RE STATE FUNDING FOR ANY STUDENT WHO TURNS FOR, UM, BY SEPTEMBER 1ST, THEY ARE ALLOCATED STATE FUNDING AND HAVE TO BE ENROLLED IN A PRE-K PROGRAM.
AND THEY'RE WITH HOUSE BILL THREE.
THE EARLY ED ALLOTMENT WAS INTENDED TO HELP SUPPORT THE COST FOR FULL DAY PRE-K.
WE KNOW THERE ARE LOTS OF ASKS ON THAT EARLY ED ALLOTMENT, BUT WHEN WE LOOK AT PRE-K THREE OR PRE-K FOR THREE YEAR OLDS BY SEPTEMBER 1ST, WE HAVE ONLY 22% OF ELIGIBLE CHILDREN ENROLLED.
AND WE THINK FOR MOST, FOR THE MOST CASE, A LOT OF THAT IS BECAUSE IT'S NOT A FULL DAY PROGRAM, IT'S A HALF DAY PROGRAM.
IF YOU'RE A WORKING PARENT, DROP OFF AT WHAT, EIGHT O'CLOCK PICK UP AT 1130, THAT DOESN'T WORK.
AND THEN YOU STILL HAVE TO PIECEMEAL CHILDCARE FOR THE REST OF THE DAY.
HOWEVER, THANKFULLY AIC DOES HAVE A MECHANISM THROUGH PRE-K PARTNERSHIPS AND PARTNERSHIPS WITH HEADSTART AND CHILDCARE CENTERS THAT WE CAN BLEND FUNDING TO CREATE A FULL DAY PROGRAM AND IN PRE-K PARTNERSHIPS.
AND JUST WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE JOHN GREEN OTERO AND MY DIRECTOR MADISON MATHIS, WHO, WHO LEAD THIS WORK.
WE HAVE 18 CHILDCARE CENTERS ACROSS THE COMMUNITY THAT PROVIDE THAT FULL DAY WRAPAROUND DROP OFF PICK UP.
WE BLEND AND BRAID CHILDCARE SUBSIDY MONEY AND PRE-K MONEY, AND PARENTS HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO BE DROPPED OFF IN THE MORNING PICKED UP.
BUT THEY HAVE THE PRE-K CURRICULUM FROM A I D AND A I D PRE-K EXPERIENCE.
ARE THOSE IN CONJUNCTION WITH, UM, AIS, S D OR OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS OR ARE THEY SEPARATE? IT IS A CONJUNCTION WITH A, I STUDENTS ARE TECHNICALLY AIS S D STUDENTS, THEY
[01:00:01]
COUNT TOWARDS AIC ENROLLMENT.SO THERE'S 18 SCHOOL FACILITIES THAT HAVE LIKE FULL DAY FOR 15.
THERE'S 16 CENTERS IN AUSTIN AND WE'RE PARTNERING IN ROUND ROCK ISD AS WELL IN TWO SCHOOLS.
KATHY, IF I COULD JUST ADD HERE.
SO THE PRE-K THREE ENROLLMENT, UM, IS ONE OF THE AREAS THAT I THINK WOULD BE RIPE FOR A CHILDCARE SUBCOMMITTEE TO BE LOOKING AT, TO SEE HOW WE COULD MOBILIZE THE THREE ENTITIES TO HELP INCREASE THAT.
NOW WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL WHEN WE DO THAT, UM, BECAUSE IT HAS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE REST OF THE CHILDCARE SYSTEM.
SO IT'S NOT AN THING YOU CAN DO SORT OF IN ISOLATION, BUT IT IS AN AREA WHERE I THINK WORKING TOGETHER AND EVEN JUST RAISING THE OPPORTUNITY AND MORE WITH MORE VOICES, UM, COULD BE HELPFUL SO MUCH IF, IF I, IF I COULD, AN AREA OF PARTICULAR FOCUS FOR, FOR, FOR ME, HERE IS THE TITLE ONE ENVIRONMENT MM-HMM.
UH, BECAUSE, UM, MANY COMMUNITIES, AFFORDABILITY IS NOT AN ISSUE.
AND SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO FOCUS ON BUILDING THE TYPE OF SYSTEM THAT THE AUSTIN PROJECT BUILT THAT AVS WORKING ON.
NOW, HOW DO YOU FOCUS ON THE RESOURCES IN AN AREA AND IDENTIFY AND MAP THEM RIGHT? UH, SO THAT PEOPLE CAN GET THE, THE, ALL OF THE THINGS THAT THEY NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
BUT THAT, THAT, UM, WE WORK IN THOSE ENVIRONMENTS WHERE, UH, ULTIMATELY YOU GET A, A, UM, A HUGE BANG FOR THE BUCK.
WELL, I'LL KEEP GOING CUZ I KNOW WE, WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF TIME, BUT NEXT SLIDE.
UM, AGAIN, THE SNAPSHOT IN OUR HEADSTART, IT'S FEDERALLY FUNDED, IT'S ALLOCATED TO BOTH AIC C GETS A PORTION OF HEADSTART SEATS ABOUT 200.
AND, UH, CHILD INC HAS THE MAJORITY OF THE SEATS ALLOCATED.
THEY HAVE ABOUT 1200 SEATS COMBINED BETWEEN EARLY HEADSTART BIRTH TO THREE AND HEADSTART THREE TO FOUR YEAR OLDS.
THEY ARE UNDER ENROLLED THIS YEAR BECAUSE THEY CAN'T HIRE SUFFICIENT STAFF TO USE UP ALL THEIR SEATS, UM, TO FILL ALL THEIR SEATS.
SO THERE, THERE'S FUNDING BEING LEFT ON THE TABLE, UNFORTUNATELY FOR THAT.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE CHILDCARE SCHOLARSHIPS OR SUBSIDIES WE'RE TRYING TO CHANGE AND, AND CALL THEM SCHOLARSHIPS, UM, BECAUSE IT'S MORE OF A STRENGTHS-BASED APPROACH.
TRAVIS COUNTY THROUGH, UH, WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY, UM, THE CHILDCARE SUBSIDY PROGRAM IS MANAGED BY WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS.
THEY'RE ALLOCATED A TARGET OF 3057 CHILDREN PER DAY WITH THE FUNDING THEY RECEIVE FROM THE STATE.
AND REMEMBER, WE HAVE 25,000 YOUNG CHILDREN UNDER AGE SIX LIVING IN LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS.
WHEN WE LOOK AT THE DISTRIBUTION OF CHILDCARE SUBSIDIES, JUST THE RESULT OF HOW REFERRALS ARE MADE AND PLACED, UM, FEWER THAN 1000 INFANTS AND TODDLERS ARE ENROLLED ON AN AVERAGE DAY IN, IN OUR SUBSIDIZED CHILDCARE PROGRAM.
RIGHT NOW WE HAVE 1,345 CHILDREN ON THE SUBSIDY WAITING LIST.
930 OF THOSE ARE CHILDREN UNDER AGE THREE.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THE BIGGEST GAP OF NEED, IT IS IN THE INFANT TODDLER SPACE, IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT IF YOU DID WATCH THE VIDEO, THANK YOU.
PRE-K EXPANSION WITHOUT STABILIZING THE INFANT TODDLER CHILDCARE SECTOR UNINTENTIONALLY DESTABILIZES THE THE WHOLE SYSTEM BECAUSE CHILDCARE PROGRAMS PAY FOR THE COSTS OF THEIR INFANTS AND TODDLERS BY COV COVERING THOSE COSTS WITH THE TUITION OR SUBSIDY THEY PULL IN FOR THE PRE-K STUDENTS BECAUSE THEY CAN HAVE MORE CHILDREN IN THOSE CLASSROOMS. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? YEAH.
CAN YOU JUST SAY WHY, IF THEY'RE FUNDING OVER 3000, UM, SLOTS PER DAY THAT THEY HAVE FEWER THAN A THOUSAND USING IT, JUST FEWER THAN A THOUSAND INFANTS AND TODDLERS.
AND PART OF THAT WE HAVE, WE HAVE LIMITED SEATS FOR INFANTS, UM, PROGRAMS CAN'T AFFORD TO OFFER CHILDCARE FOR INFANTS, UM, AT THE SUBSIDY REIMBURSEMENT RATE.
AND SO THEY WON'T, THEY, THEY'LL ACCEPT PRESCHOOLERS OR AFTERSCHOOL CHILDCARE, BUT THEY WON'T ACCEPT INFANTS BECAUSE IT'S N IT DOESN'T WORK WITH THEIR BUSINESS MODEL.
WE ALSO ARE FINDING A LOT OF PROGRAMS ARE CLOSING THEIR INFANT CLASSROOMS, UM, BECAUSE THEY CAN'T STAFF AND THOSE ARE THE EXPENSIVE CLASSROOMS TO OPEN.
SO, UM, I DON'T WANNA TAKE UP TOO MUCH.
THAT'S WHAT I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND.
BUT ONLY A THOUSAND OF THEM ARE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE ONLY A THOUSAND ARE UTILIZED, UTILIZING OR SUPPORTING INFANTS AND TODDLERS.
THE REST ARE SUPPORTING CHILDREN OLDER THREE THROUGH 13.
IT'D BE GOOD TO HAVE A BREAKDOWN
[01:05:01]
OF THE 25,000 CUZ THAT'S SIX AND UNDER.SO I, I DON'T HAVE A SENSE OF THE SIZE OF THOSE POPULATIONS.
UM, AND JUST FOR CLARITY, PRE-K ELIGIBILITY IS, IS 185% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL.
HEADSTART IS A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL AND CHILDCARE SUBSIDIES IS 85% OF STATE MEDIAN INCOME.
SO IF YOU'RE A PARENT OF A THREE YEAR OLD, MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR IN NAVIGATING THAT SYSTEM.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY IT'S JUST HOW, HOW WE OPERATE IN TEXAS.
WE HAVE A MASSIVE PROBLEM WITH CHILDCARE IN OUR STATE.
AND, AND I DO THINK OF THAT AS HIGH QUALITY EARLY CARE IN EDUCATION.
IT CAN BE HIGH QUALITY OF SUFFICIENTLY RE RESOURCED.
THIS STATE IS, UM, NOT INVESTING AND, AND WE HAVE REALLY POOR STANDARDS FOR CHILDCARE GENERALLY, BUT IN OUR COMMUNITY WE'VE WORKED TOGETHER TO ELEVATE THOSE.
IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, THE CHILDCARE SYSTEM HAS BEEN DEMONN UP.
HIGH QUALITY INFANT CARE CAN COST OVER $20,000 A YEAR.
UM, IT COSTS MORE THAN TUITION AT UT FOR ALMOST ALL CHILDCARE IN OUR REGION.
AND MOST FAMILIES CANNOT PAY THE TRUE COST OF CARE.
WHAT HAPPENS IS WE COMPRESS THE TEACHER'S WAGES AND WE, WE PROVIDE CARE ON THE BACK OF THE WORKFORCE AND THE CHILDCARE SECTOR.
WE HAVE REALLY HIGH TURNOVER, UM, IN THIS, IN THIS SECTOR.
AND WE ESTIMATE THAT THE LOSS OF THOSE PROGRAMS WHO ARE FOR EVERY CHILD THEY ENROLL, THAT IS SUPPORTED BY A CHILDCARE SUBSIDY.
IF THEY'RE MAINTAINING HIGH QUALITY STANDARDS, THEY'RE LOSING BETWEEN 3000 TO $5,000 PER CHILD PER YEAR BASED ON THE INSUFFICIENT REIMBURSEMENT RATES.
JUST A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE MARKET FAILURE.
THEY OPERATE ON A 1% PROFIT MARGIN.
MOST CHILDCARE PROGRAMS, UM, WE'VE BEEN SEEING A CONSISTENT REDUCTION IN JUST THE NUMBER OF SEATS ACROSS THE REGION.
THAT MEANS PROGRAMS THAT ARE WILLING TO ACCEPT CHILDREN SUPPORTED BY SUBSIDIES.
AND THEN WHEN WE LOCK, LOOK AT LIKE WHERE, WHERE'S THE ROOM TO MOVE THINGS AROUND WITHIN THE CHILDCARE BUSINESS MODEL, 60, 80% OF THEIR COSTS GO TO WAGES.
UM, AND THEN ANOTHER 20 TO 40% GOES TO OCCUPANCY.
SO THEY'RE PAYING RENT OR THEY'RE PAYING MORTGAGE, THEY PAY PROPERTY TAXES, UTILITIES, ET CETERA.
THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR, UM, CO-LOCATIONS USING EXISTING ASSETS, PUBLIC FACILITIES, ET CETERA.
UM, AND IT'S PARTICULARLY HARD PROBLEM IN AUSTIN RIGHT NOW, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE.
THE NEXT SLIDE JUST SHOWS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE WORKFORCE.
WE KNOW THERE'S A TERRIBLE CRISIS OF A TEACHER WORKFORCE.
I WOULD SAY THE CHILDCARE STAFFING CRISIS IS THAT TEACHER WORKFORCE CRISIS ON STEROIDS.
UM, IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, ONLY ONE OUT OF 10 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS EARNS THE LIVING WAGE.
AVERAGE WAGE IS AN AUSTIN OR 12 TO $13 AN HOUR.
AND, AND NEARLY EVERY CHILDCARE PROGRAM IS HAVING TROUBLE FINDING SUFFICIENT STAFF.
THAT MEANS THEY SHRINK HOURS, THEY CLOSE INFANT TODDLER CLASSROOMS. UM, THEY DON'T OPERATE THE HOURS THAT WORKING FAMILIES TRULY NEED.
WE KNOW THAT WE'RE IGNORING LONG-TERM OUTCOMES FROM THIS.
THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL REPORTS RECENTLY ABOUT THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF LACK OF AFFORDABLE CHILDCARE ON OUR WORKFORCE, WHICH Y'ALL WERE TALKING ABOUT.
EMPLOYER PRODUCTIVITY, SALES, TAX REVENUE, WORKFORCE PARTICIPATION.
ALL OF THESE COULD INCREASE IF WE HAD SUFFICIENT ACCESS TO HIGH QUALITY CARE.
AND IT MUST BE RESOURCED TO PROVIDE HIGH QUALITY CARE.
YOU CAN'T EXPECT QUALITY WITHOUT PAYING FOR IT.
THE NEXT SLIDE IS SIMILAR, JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WORKFORCE PARTICIPATION.
SO I DON'T WANNA, UM, SPEND TOO MUCH LI LONGER ON THAT.
AND THEN THE LAST TWO SIDES WE CAN FLIP THROUGH RELATIVELY QUICKLY OR JUST DOCUMENTED, UM, PIECES OF INFORMATION WE HAVE ABOUT THE STRONG RETURN ON INVESTMENT.
IF WE DO INVEST EARLY, WE HAVE THE LEAST AMOUNT OF PUBLIC FUNDING IN THE FIRST FIVE YEARS, WHICH HAS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PERIOD OF BRAIN DEVELOPMENT.
AND IF WE DON'T PAY UPFRONT, THIS LAST SLIDE INDICATES HOW WE PAY MORE LATER WE HAVE TO INVEST MORE IN RETENTION, IN INTERVENTIONS AND SPECIAL EDUCATION.
UM, AND LATER ON THINGS LIKE INVOLVEMENT WITH THE JUSTICE SYSTEM, ET CETERA, INSTEAD OF WORKFORCE PARTICIPATION.
THAT WAS YOUR CHILDCARE 1 0 1 SPEED ROUND? YES.
UM, SO I KNOW THAT THE ARPA FUNDS
[01:10:01]
BACK IN 2021 WERE MADE AVAILABLE TO ALL STATES.UM, AND I DON'T KNOW, SOMETIME EARLIER THIS CALENDAR, ACTUALLY NO.
LAST YEAR, UM, I HAD REACHED OUT TO SOME FOLKS AT T WC TO TRY TO FIND OUT HOW DID TEXAS INVEST THOSE DOLLARS.
THE PUNCHLINE, UM, COMMISSIONER SHAKE
BUT HOW, WHAT HAS, YOU KNOW, WHAT CAN Y'ALL DO HERE IN OUR CENTRAL TEXAS REGIONS? SO THERE'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE STATE AND THE CENTRAL.
THE STATE HAS DONE A LOT OF STABLE STABILIZATION.
THEY SHARED OUT STABILIZATION GRANTS.
THEY'VE HAD SHORT-TERM INCREASES IN THE SUBSIDY REIMBURSEMENT RATES.
THOSE ARE ALL COMING TO AN END.
UM, AND, AND WE WEREN'T IN A GREAT PLACE FOR CHILDCARE BEFORE THE PANDEMIC.
SO ANYTHING THAT WAS INVESTED THROUGH THE PANDEMIC RECOVERY FUNDS IS REALLY JUST TRYING TO GET US BACK TO WHERE WE WERE, WHICH ISN'T WHERE WE NEED TO BE.
UM, LOCAL INVESTMENTS HAVE BEEN INCREDIBLY HELPFUL IN BUILDING OUT THINGS LIKE THE PRE-K PARTNERSHIPS THAT CAN LEVERAGE THE STATE EDUCATION REVENUE INTO THE CHILDCARE SECTOR, TRYING TO STRENGTHEN THE BUSINESS MODEL OF OUR CHILDCARE PROGRAMS AND TRYING TO BEGIN REALLY WORKING MORE INTENTIONALLY, EXPLICITLY WITH THE FAMILY-BASED PROVIDERS WHO ARE OFTEN LEFT OUT AND DISCONNECTED FROM LOCAL RESOURCES AND SUPPORTS.
AND THEN I KNOW THERE'S ALSO CSA FUNDS, UM, I FORGET HOW TO SPELL THE ACRONYM, BUT IT'S LIKE C R R S A, I THINK.
UM, AND THOSE ARE, RATHER THAN BEING STABILIZATION FUNDS, UH, SOME STATES ARE USING SOME STATES, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT TEXAS, BUT SOME STATES ARE USING THEM, UM, TO ENCOURAGE LONGER TERM, UH, WORKFORCE INVESTMENTS, LIKE SPECIFICALLY IN CHILDCARE AND EARLY CHILDCARE.
SO, UM, NOT, AGAIN, NOT SURE TO WHAT EXTENT, YOU KNOW, OUR REGION CAN ACCESS THOSE DOLLARS.
I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE STATE AND LOCAL, BUT, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES MAGIC CAN HAPPEN.
I, I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE CSO FUNDS, UM, AT THIS POINT, BUT I'M HAPPY TO LOOK INTO IT.
I DON'T, LAWRENCE, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THOSE.
SO YEAH, I WOULD SAY JUST REALLY BRIEFLY, UM, YEAH, THERE'S LIKE STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS, AH, UM, FOR CHILDCARE WORKERS MM-HMM.
SO, AGAIN, I UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, RIGHT.
THERE'S CERTAIN THINGS THAT WOULD BE APPLICABLE, CERTAIN THINGS THAT WOULDN'T BE.
UM, THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO JUST BRIEFLY MENTION, SO NOT REALLY A QUESTION, BUT MORE OF A COMMENT IS, YOU KNOW, WHEN I THINK ABOUT CHILDCARE, SO I GOT THREE KIDS, RIGHT? 12, 9, 5.
UM, AND I WAS SO HAPPY WHEN MY, UH, YOUNGEST ENTERED PRE-K FOUR.
IT WAS LIKE GETTING A RAISE, I MM-HMM.
UM, SO ALL OF THAT TO SAY, YOU KNOW, THE OTHER THING THAT COMES TO MIND IS NOT JUST THE AFFORDABILITY AND THE PARTNERSHIPS AND KIND OF LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU MOVE ONE DOMINO, WHAT ELSE FALLS? BUT, UM, REALLY LOOKING AT SOME OPPORTUNITIES, YOU KNOW, THE CO-LOCATION AND, AND ON TOP OF THAT, LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, MULTI-GENERATIONAL MM-HMM.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE, THE DIAZ, THE, YOU KNOW, UH, INDIVIDUALS WHO MIGHT HAVE RETIRED YEAH.
FROM WORK, BUT WANT TO, UM, HAVE ANOTHER CAREER, RIGHT? AND LIKE, HOW AMAZING AND POWERFUL IS THAT WHEN, UM, YOU'VE GOT CROSS-GENERATIONAL INTERACTION, BOTH, ALL, ALL ALL FOLKS, UM, BENEFIT FROM THAT.
AND THEN ALONG THOSE SAME LINES, THE PARTNERSHIPS THAT, UM, CURRENTLY EXIST TO HELP PARENTS AND CURRENT CAREGIVERS, UM, AND CONNECTING THEM TO, OR RECEIVING THEM FROM WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
UM, AND THE LAST THING I'LL SAY IS, YEAH, THE, THE SOONER WE CAN GET KIDDOS INTO A I S D AND REALLY HAVE THEM BECOME PART OF THE AIS D FAMILY, THE, THE BETTER.
AND I THINK THAT'S THE OTHER THING I WOULD LOVE TO SEE IS REALLY HAVING OUR CITY, UM, NOT THAT THIS HASN'T ALREADY TAKEN PLACE, BUT MAYBE JUST, UM, MORE OVERT, UM, A MORE OVERT EMBRACING OF A I S D AS PART AND PARCEL OF THE CITY, RIGHT? LIKE, WHAT IS THE IDENTITY OF OUR CITY? YOU KNOW, QUALITY CHILDCARE THROUGH A I S D, RIGHT? LIKE, THERE'S LOTS OF WAYS THAT WE CAN DO THAT AND, AND REALLY PROMOTE THAT.
I THINK WE HAVE TIME FOR ABOUT ONE MORE COMMENT, MR. SHAY.
UM, I KNOW THERE'S BEEN SOME TALK ABOUT A, A BALLOT INITIATIVE.
I DON'T KNOW AT WHAT POINT IT MAKES SENSE
[01:15:01]
FOR US TO BE BRIEFED ON THAT, BUT, UM, IT'S CLEAR WE HAVE TO FIND ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF, OF FUNDING.AND, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL HAVE DONE THIS ANALYSIS, CUZ YOU'VE DONE SUCH PHENOMENAL ANALYSIS ON SO MANY ASPECTS OF THIS, BUT I'D BE INTERESTED TO KNOW HOW OTHER COUNTRIES FUND IT.
I MEAN, WE HEAR SO MUCH ABOUT HOW EUROPEAN COUNTRIES HAVE EXCELLENT CHILDCARE PROGRAMS THAT THE STATE FUNDS, UM, YOU KNOW, OR SOMEHOW THEY'RE FUNDED.
IT'D BE REALLY INTERESTING TO JUST UNDERSTAND HOW THEY DO THAT AND WHAT THE COSTS ARE.
CUZ I, WE CLEARLY DON'T HAVE GOOD WORKING MODELS AND IT WOULD BE GOOD TO KNOW WHAT SOME OF THOSE ARE.
YEAH, I'M HAPPY TO, I HAVE, I HAVE SOME OF THE INFORMATION ON THE, THE INTERNATIONAL MODELS AND ALSO WOULD NOTE THAT THEY HAVE OFTEN MORE ROBUST PAID FAMILY LEAVE THAT REDUCES THE, THE STRESS FOR INFANT CARE AND THE COST OF INFANT CARE.
SO THAT CAN ALSO BE A, A LEVER.
BUT I'M HAPPY TO BRING THAT INFORMATION BACK.
I, I WILL SAY, UM, CURRENTLY UNDERWAY IS A PROJECT WITH THE CHILDREN'S FUNDING PROJECT DOING COST MODELING AND FISCAL MAPPING.
SO THAT IF WE ARE ASKED WHAT WOULD IT TAKE IN AUSTIN SO THAT WE HAD FUNDS FOR EVERY, UH, CHILD UP THROUGH AGE FOUR FOR HIGH QUALITY, EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION, WHAT WOULD THAT COST BE AND HOW DO, WHAT'S THE GAP FROM WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE? I CAN PROMISE YOU IT'S A HUGE NUMBER.
IT IS A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS ANNUALLY.
BUT THAT'S THE WORK THAT, UM, WE HAVE SOME STAFF AND PROGRAMS WORKING ON RIGHT NOW TO TRY AND JUST HAVE THAT ANSWER FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
AND THEN THAT ASSET MAPPING WOULD BE REALLY IMPORTANT.
CUZ I'VE HEARD DIRECTLY FROM WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, THEY SPEND 54 MILLION A YEAR CURRENTLY ON CHILDCARE.
AND I WAS FLOORED WHEN I HEARD THAT CUZ I DIDN'T HAVE A SENSE THAT WE WERE GETTING ANYWHERE CLOSE TO ADDRESSING OUR CHILDCARE NEEDS.
AND I'M JUST ASTONISHED THAT THEY'RE SPENDING THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY ON CHILDCARE.
AND JUST, WHEN WE SAY AN ASSET, WHEN WE SAY AN ASSET MAP, WHAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO DO IS IDENTIFY ALL OF THE PROGRAMMING WHEREVER IT IS, AND WHETHER THE DOLLARS OF FEDERAL, UH, STATE OR LOCAL, JUST TO HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT'S BEING, WHERE, WELL, WHAT WE'RE SERVING, BUT THEN ALSO WHERE THE GAPS ARE YEP.
SO THAT WE CAN PUT PLACE OUR FOCUS THERE.
UM, WE DID THAT WITH THE FOOD POLICY CAN, WITH THE FOOD POLICY COUNSELING, THE FOOD NETWORK.
AND IT WAS A VERY INSTRUCTIVE DOCUMENT, UH, THAT, THAT, UH, LED US TO MAKE MORE INVESTMENT IN FOOD ACCESS.
WELL, I ALSO, UH, DIDN'T HEAR, MAYBE I MISSED IT, UM, ABOUT OUR TEEN MOMS, UH, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE THEY GETTING SUPPORT? UM, AND, YOU KNOW, I'D LIKE, IF Y'ALL HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON THAT LATER, I'D I'D APPRECIATE IT.
THEY, THEY ARE A PRIORITY GROUP FOR WORKFORCE.
THERE'S CLEARLY A LOT OF INTEREST.
I WANNA TAKE A QUICK SECOND TO MAKE SURE ALL THE, ALL YOUR COLLEAGUES WERE INTRODUCED.
WOULD YOU ALL MIND INTRODUCING YOURSELVES AND THEN IF THERE ARE OTHER, UM, FOLKS WORKING, UM, FROM A D OR THE CITY INVOLVED IN CHILDCARE, COULD YOU JUST STAND UP AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF QUICKLY? I'M THE DIRECTOR OF PRE-K PARTNERSHIPS, UNITED WAY FOR GREATER AUSTIN.
HELLO, I'M HILDA AND I'M A PLUMBER IN THE RESEARCH DIVISION WITH COUNTY SERVICES, AND MY FOCUS IS ON EARLY CARE EDUCATION.
I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SCHOOL PROGRAMS FOR AUSTIN.
I'M THE THIRD BASE DIRECTOR FOR AUSTIN, WHICH IS AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM.
IT IS GONNA BE CENTRALIZED IN THE DISTRICT.
HE'S FINDING THE SPACE, RIGHT? I'M JEREMY STRICK.
I'M DIRECTOR OF REAL ESTATE AUSTIN.
AND YOU'RE FINDING THE SPACE FOR CO-LOCATION? IS THAT WHAT I HEARD? WE'RE
PUT OUT A PUBLIC ARTIST FOR THE FORMER ELEMENTARY TO MAKE THAT.
BUT IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR OTHER, UH, SPACE, UM, THE, THE COUNTY IS HAS A PARTNERSHIP WITH NUMEROUS MULTI-FAMILY DEVELOPERS THAT ARE DEVELOPING SOMEWHAT LARGE SCALE SITES THAT ARE TAX EXEMPT.
SO THE, ANY OF THE COMMON SPACE THEY HAVE, UM, IS NOT TAXED.
FURTHER INTRODUCTIONS, GENERAL PRE-K, BEFORE OUR HEADSTART PROGRAM AND PART OF OUR VISIT.
[01:20:01]
WONDERFUL.I'M AN ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT.
I WORK WITH STUDENT PROGRAMS OF WHICH EARLY LEARNING IS ONE OF THOSE.
DID WE GET EVERYBODY ALL RIGHT.
WELL, THIS IS A GOOD, UM, THANK YOU AGAIN.
YOU CAN SEE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE ALL, I THINK, ARE VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT.
AND, UM, YOU'VE GIVEN US A GOOD START IN THIS, UH, OR CONTINUATION IN THIS DIRECTION.
[V. Briefing: Texas Education Agency and AISD Special Update]
UM, NEXT WE HAVE, WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO SOME TALK ABOUT A I S D.AND WE HAVE WITH US OUR INTERIM, UH, SUPERINTENDENT MATTIA SEGURA, AND HE'S GONNA TALK TO US ABOUT, UH, THE TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY AND SOME, UM, UPDATES AROUND SPECIAL EDUCATION AND MENDEZ MIDDLE SCHOOL.
I DIDN'T REALIZE I HAD A, A PLACE TO SIT HERE.
UM, WELL, GOOD EVENING OR GOOD AFTERNOON, UH, TRUSTEES, COMMISSIONERS, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE REGARDING SPECIAL EDUCATION, UH, SERVICES, UH, OUR CURRENT ENGAGEMENT WITH TE AS WELL AS AN UPDATE REGARDING MENDEZ MIDDLE SCHOOL.
AND SO, UH, AS WE MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THE FIRST THING I'D LIKE TO COMMUNICATE TO YOU ALL IS THAT WHEN I FIRST CAME ON BOARD, IT WAS CLEAR TO ME THAT SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES AND IMPROVING THE SERVICES, UH, FOR OUR STUDENTS WAS PRIORITY ONE A.
UH, IT IT'S SOMETHING THAT THE SYSTEM AS A WHOLE NEEDED TO ACKNOWLEDGE, UM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND REALLY EMBRACE THE CHALLENGE THAT WE HAD IN FRONT OF US.
AND SO, I'LL TELL YOU SINCE THE, THE FIRST DAY THAT I STARTED IN THIS ROLE, THAT HAS CONSUMED A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MY TIME.
UH, BUT WE'VE, OVER THE PERIOD OF THREE MONTHS REALLY DONE AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF WORK AND, AND WE'RE WELL POSITIONED TO DO A LOT OF GREAT THINGS MOVING FORWARD.
UH, AS WE THINK OF, AS WE MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I, I WANT Y'ALL TO KNOW IS THAT THE CHALLENGES THAT HAVE FACED A I S D, UH, REGARDING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES IS, IS NOT NEW.
UH, WE'VE HAD THESE CHALLENGES, THEY'VE SHOWN THEMSELVES IN A VARIETY OF WAYS FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW, UM, REALLY GOING BACK TO 20 18, 20 19, AND, AND, AND OTHERS WOULD ARGUE WELL BEFORE THAT.
AND SO AS WE TALK SPECIFICALLY AROUND THE ENGAGEMENT WITH T A, I DO WANT TO POINT OUT THAT THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE NOTIFICATIONS, UPDATES, YOU KNOW, INVESTIGATIONS, UH, OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.
AND, UH, ALL OF THAT WORK, HOWEVER, HASN'T QUITE GOTTEN US TO WHERE WE NEED TO BE.
AND SO, AS WE EMBARK ON THIS NEXT ENGAGEMENT WITH DEA, UH, IT'S CERTAINLY IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT A LOT OF THINGS HAVE OCCURRED AND FOR THE STATE AND FOR US AS WELL.
THIS IS NOT COMING OUT OF NOWHERE.
I KNOW FOR A LOT OF OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS, A LOT OF OUR STAKEHOLDERS, UH, IT FELT LIKE IT WAS, WAS NEW, UM, AND MAYBE OUT OF NOWHERE, BUT, BUT CERTAINLY IT, IT'S SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
SO, AS WE TRANSITION TO THE NEXT SLIDE, I DO WANT TO POINT OUT, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE OF THE RENEWED FOCUS THAT WE HAVE AT A I S D REGARDING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES, WE'VE DONE A, A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF THINGS IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
I DO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE, UH, SOME PREVIOUS ACTIONS, JUST GOING BACK TO MAY OF 2022.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID WAS COMMISSIONED A, AN AUDIT, AN ASSESSMENT BY, UH, DR.
A, UH, UH, I WOULD SAY WORLD RENOWNED, BUT, UH, DEFINITELY INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN, UM, SPECIAL EDUCATION EXPERT.
AND SHE WAS ABLE TO IDENTIFY, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WOULD REALLY HELP IMPROVE THE SYSTEM.
AND FROM THAT POINT, WE MADE SOME STRUCTURAL CHANGES, INCLUDING ADJUSTMENTS TO LEADERSHIP TO ENSURE THAT THE WORK REALLY ALIGNED WITH THE STRUCTURE WITHIN A I S D.
I WOULD ARGUE PRIOR TO THAT, THERE WERE BOTTLENECKS, THERE WERE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAD, WHICH IS KEEPING INFORMATION AND, AND THE SYSTEMS FLOWING THE WAY THEY NEEDED TO.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK IS MOST IMPACTFUL TO THE WORK WAS, WAS ACTUALLY THE, THE NEW, THE ELECTION OF THE NEW BOARD.
WE HAD NEW BOARD MEMBERS COME ON IN NOVEMBER, UH, WELL ELECTED IN NOVEMBER, AND THEN CAME ON LATE DECEMBER AND INTO JANUARY.
AND AT THAT POINT, NOT THAT THERE WASN'T PREVIOUSLY, BUT THERE WAS A, A KIND OF A REFOCUSING, UH, REGARDING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES AND A CLEAR ALIGNMENT BETWEEN THE ADMINISTRATION, UH, AND THE BOARD AS TO WHAT NEEDED TO HAPPEN.
AND SO IN DECEMBER OF 2022, UH, THE BOARD, UM, GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, THE BOARD DID MOVE FORWARD WITH, UM, IDENTIFYING ME, UH, FOR THE INTERIM ROLE.
AND I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S, THAT'S WORTH NOTING HERE IS THAT IS, AS Y'ALL KNOW, I'VE WORKED WITH JUST ABOUT EVERY ONE OF Y'ALL.
UH, I AM A NON-TRADITIONAL, UM, MY, MY EXPERTISE IS IN SYSTEMS. UH, IT'S IN, UM, IDENTIFYING STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS THE MOST COMPLICATED ISSUES AN ENTITY MAY FACE.
THAT'S JUST THE WORLD THAT I'VE LIVED IN MY ENTIRE CAREER.
AND, AND THIS IS NO DIFFERENT.
SO WE HAVE UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY HERE.
AND SO, AS I SAID, ONCE I CAME ON BOARD, IT WAS CLEAR WHAT THE FOCUS WAS OF THE ORGANIZATION.
[01:25:01]
WE HAVE OTHER FOCUS AREAS, WHETHER IT'S MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION, UH, CLIMATE AND CULTURE, UH, BUDGET PRIORITIES.BUT, BUT, YOU KNOW, I KEEP ON TELLING OUR TEAM, LIKE SUCH EDUCATION SERVICES IS TRULY ONE A ABOVE ALL ELSE.
UH, THE BOARD, UH, ESTABLISHED AN AD HOC COMMITTEE, WHICH I THINK IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE.
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT GETTING, UH, ALIGNMENT BETWEEN THE BOARD AND THE ADMINISTRATION.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE THAT TOUCHPOINT.
YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE THE INFORMATION SESSIONS AND WE HAVE THE, THE BOARD MEETINGS.
BUT REALLY TO, TO BE ALIGNED, WE NEED TO HAVE LIKE, CONSTANT COMMUNICATION, AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THEY'RE UNDERSTANDING THE RECOMMENDATIONS BECAUSE WE ARE MOVING VERY F UH, FORWARD VERY AGGRESSIVELY.
ALSO WANT TO POINT OUT, UH, THAT IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY, UH, AROUND SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT IT'S NOT JUST, UH, THE STUDENTS THAT RECEIVE THESE SERVICES, IT'S THE ENTIRE ACADEMIC SYSTEM THAT REALLY NEEDS TO BE IMPROVED.
AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT IN DETAIL MAYBE IN THE Q AND A PORTION OF THE, THE CONVERSATION.
UH, AND ALSO ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE ALL SHARE AS, AS A SYSTEM, AS A I S D, YOU KNOW, FINANCE, OPERATIONS, PROCUREMENT.
NO ONE IS GOOD, UH, UNLESS SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES ARE GOOD.
UH, AND WE'RE DOING WHAT WE NEED TO BE DOING FOR OUR STUDENTS.
AND I THINK CREATING THAT EXPECTATION FOR OUR SYSTEM IS IMPORTANT.
UH, AND, AND WE'VE DONE A LOT IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, INCLUDING DEVELOPING A DASHBOARD, UH, WHICH ALLOWS OUR, UM, SCHOOL COMMUNITIES, OUR PRINCIPALS AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS, TO UNDERSTAND WHERE EACH OF OUR STUDENTS ARE WITHIN A PROCESS.
UH, AND, AND YOU CAN THINK ABOUT PLANNING PURPOSES, RIGHT? WE, WE HAVE EVALUATIONS, WE HAVE ARDS, WE HAVE ALL THESE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO DO, BUT UNDERSTANDING WHERE EACH STUDENT IS IN THAT PROCESS IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.
AND UP UNTIL VERY RECENTLY, WE DIDN'T HAVE THE TOOLS TO DO THAT.
UH, SO VERY, UM, EXCITED ABOUT THE WORK WE'VE DONE, BUT THERE IS A LONG WAY TO GO.
SO AS WE TRANSITION TO THE NEXT SLIDE, I DO WANT TO POINT OUT, UH, SOME THINGS THAT ARE, UM, WITHIN THE TE CURRENT RECOMMENDATION AND, AND KIND OF WHAT THAT MEANS.
UH, AS Y'ALL KNOW, UM, SEVERAL WEEKS BACK, WE RECEIVED A LETTER FROM TE STATING THAT, UH, CONSERVATORS, UH, WERE BEING RECOMMENDED FOR PLACEMENT WITHIN THE SPECIAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT.
I WANNA BE VERY CLEAR THAT'S NOT OVER THE BOARD.
IT'S NOT OVER THE SUPERINTENDENT, IT'S NOT OVER GOV GOVERNANCE OR PROCUREMENT OR FINANCE.
IT'S SPECIFICALLY OVER SPECIAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT.
UH, THIS IS, THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE I BELIEVE OUR COMMUNITY, UM, RESPONDED, NOTING KIND OF WHAT'S OCCURRING RIGHT NOW IN HOUSTON.
AND I, AND SO THE BOARD ALIGNED WITH THE ADMINISTRATION, YOU KNOW, WAS PUTTING OUT COMMUNICATION AROUND WHAT THIS IS AND WHAT IT ISN'T.
UH, I WILL TELL YOU, UM, IN OUR RESPONSE TOT A, REGARDING THE INITIAL FINDINGS, WE WERE PROPOSING A MONITOR, WHICH IS DIFFERENT.
UH, A MONITOR IS SOMEONE THAT KIND OF LOOKS OVER YOUR SHOULDERS AS IS A COLLABORATOR WITH YOU, BUT ULTIMATELY DOESN'T HAVE A BINDING, UM, DECISION MAKING AUTHORITY, UH, A CONSERVATOR DOES.
AND SO RIGHT NOW WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF WORKING THROUGH THIS PRO THIS WITH TE UM, I SUSPECT, UH, ULTIMATELY WHEREVER WE LAND, UM, IT'LL OCCUR SOMETIME IN MID-SUMMER.
UH, THE BOARD AND, AND THE ADMINISTRATION HAVE BEEN ALIGNED AT EVERY STEP ALONG THE WAY.
UH, SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, UH, TO NOTE THAT WE ARE VERY MUCH ALIGNED.
WE COMMUNICATE CONSTANTLY, AND WE ARE ALSO COMMUNICATING TO OUR LARGER, UH, COMMUNITY, UH, ON A MORE FREQUENT BASIS AND MORE TRANSPARENT AND, AND IN A TRANSPARENT WAY.
SOMETHING THAT I DON'T KNOW, HAS BEEN DONE IN THAT WAY FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
SO IT'S JUST IMPORTANT TO CONTINUE TO REINFORCE THAT.
UH, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, I, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE CHALLENGES WE'VE HAD AND, AND SOME OF THE PROGRESS WE'VE MADE.
UH, I, I DO WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT HERE AND, AND DESCRIBE ONE OF THE LIKE, KIND OF FOUNDATIONAL CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE.
AND ONE OF THEM IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE USE LSPS AND DIAGNOSTICIANS, UH, TO DO THE EVALUATIONS FOR OUR STUDENTS RECEIVING, OR, OR MAYBE OUR STUDENTS THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS POTENTIALLY RECEIVING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES.
WE HAVE 75 POSITIONS IN AUSTIN ISD, RIGHT? CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW WE HAVE 24 FILLED.
UH, AND SO AS YOU CAN IMAGINE WITH THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS THAT WE HAVE, THE, THE PANDEMIC AND THE SLOWDOWN AND, AND, AND EVALUATIONS, COUPLED WITH THE FACT THAT, UH, WE'RE SEEING AN INCREASE, UM, IN, IN STUDENTS BEING MOVED INTO THIS PROCESS, AND THERE'S CONVERSATIONS AROUND THAT WE'RE, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH, WITH THE LOAD.
UH, ONE THING I ALSO WANT TO POINT OUT IS IN CENTRAL TEXAS, UH, THERE'S ONLY 256 LICENSED LSPS, UH, AND DIAGNOSTICIANS.
SO WE HAVE TO ESSENTIALLY TAKE ON AND, AND COMPETE FOR A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF THE AVAILABLE LPS AND DIAGNOSTICIANS, WHICH MEANS WE HAVE TO BE INCREDIBLY AGGRESSIVE.
UH, ANOTHER THING I WANT TO POINT OUT IS, UH, WE HAVE BEEN MOVING VERY AGGRESSIVELY, UH, THROUGH OUR EVALUATIONS.
YOU CAN SEE HERE SOME OF THE NUMBERS.
UH, WE'VE DONE 4,000 SINCE MAY OF 2022 AND OVER 8,000, UH, SINCE LAST
[01:30:01]
YEAR.SO WE HAVE BEEN DEVELOPING THE SYSTEM AND MOVING THE SYSTEM TO BE ABLE TO MOVE THROUGH THIS.
UH, BUT WE STILL HAVE, UH, A GOOD AMOUNT OF WORK TO DO.
I DO TELL THE TRUSTEES THAT, UH, IN ALL HONESTY, THIS IS NOT A SIX MONTH CHALLENGE.
THIS IS NOT A A YEAR CHALLENGE.
THIS IS AN 18 TO 24 MONTH, UH, YOU KNOW, INITIATIVE THAT WE HAVE TO, TO GO THROUGH TO BE WHERE WE WANT TO BE.
BUT WE'RE WELL POSITIONED TO DO IT ON THE NEXT SLIDE, JUST SO THAT Y'ALL HAVING A SENSE OF, OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE WHEN WE BUILD UP.
AND THOSE OF YOU THAT KNOW ME, LIKE MEAN Y'ALL, MANY OF Y'ALL PROBABLY SEEN THESE TYPES OF THINGS FOR ME.
UH, LIKE I AM INTENTIONAL ABOUT MAKING SURE EVERYBODY IN THE ORGANIZATION UNDERSTANDS, YOU KNOW, WHAT TASK IS AT HAND, WHAT RESOURCES ARE BEING ALLOCATED, WHAT THEIR ROLE IS IN SUPPORTING THAT WORK.
AND SO THIS IS ONE OF NINE SHEETS THAT JUST COMMUNICATES THE OVERALL EDUCATION SPECIAL EDUCATION INITIATIVE THAT'LL OCCUR OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
WE'RE WANTING TO BE, UM, INCREDIBLY TRANSPARENT.
SO YOU'RE SEEING US POST THIS, UH, AND COLLABORATE WITH OUR, UM, OUR, UH, STAKEHOLDERS TO IMPROVE IT.
AND, AND IT'LL EVOLVE OVER TIME.
BUT AGAIN, MY GOAL IS TO BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE TO ANYBODY, IMPROVE TO ANYBODY THAT WE CAN TACKLE THIS WORK.
AND I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANOTHER WAY THAT YOU CAN DO IT UNLESS YOU GO THROUGH THIS TYPE OF ANALYSIS.
SO, JUST WANTED TO PROVIDE, UH, THAT FOR YOU.
IS THERE LIKE A HIGHLIGHT ON THE RECOVERY PLAN? CAUSE THAT'S AN LEGIBLE I HAVE.
NO, NO, I HAVE, I HAVE A, I HAVE A HIGHLIGHT AND, AND I, I WILL SEND THAT.
I DIDN'T, YEAH, YOU, THERE'S NO WAY.
I HAVE IT, LIKE ON MY, I HAVE, I HAVE HUGE SHEETS ON MY BOARD, YOU KNOW, COMMISSIONER SAY, CAN I SOMETHING REALLY QUICK ABOUT THIS, PLEASE.
SO, AS SAY, KNOW, TONIGHT, WE BROKE ON THE SAME, WE LOVE THIS.
OKAY? AND THIS IS OBVIOUSLY JUST FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES, WE DON'T EXPECT YOU TO BE ABLE TO READ IT.
BUT THIS DID NOT EXIST IN THIS DISTRICT FOUR MONTHS AGO.
AND SO AS TRUSTEES, YOU HAD NO SCHEDULE FOR RECOVERY PLAN.
THERE WAS NO PROJECT MANAGEMENT.
OKAY, COMMISSIONER SHAY, UH, IT FLOORED ME.
I'M JUST SO PASSIONATE ABOUT GANTT CHARTS.
UM,
I NEED ALL THE PRAYER I CAN GET.
HE SAYS IT TO A LOT OF PEOPLE.
SO I'M NOW ON COMMISSIONER, UH, TRILLUM'S PRAYER LIST.
I'M ON THERE TOO, I'M SURE, BUT I DIGRESS.
UH, IN ALL SERIOUSNESS, YOU KNOW, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S REALLY EXCITING, UM, UH, AS WE'RE WORKING WITH INTERIM, UH, SUPERINTENDENT SEGURA IS THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT LENS, THE OPERATIONAL LENS.
LIKE REALLY LOOKING AT HOW EACH OF OUR DIVISIONS WITHIN THE DISTRICT, EACH OF THE CAMPUSES, RIGHT? LIKE LOOKING AT THE INTERCONNECTIONS AND THE DEPENDENCIES AND BEING REALISTIC, BUT AMBITIOUS ABOUT HOW TO SOLVE PERSISTENT OR COMPLEX PROBLEMS AND SPECIAL EDUCATION.
IT FITS IN THAT EXACT CATEGORY.
AND SO, UM, THE GANTT CHART THAT YOU SEE HERE, YOU KNOW, IS GONNA BE FAMILIAR TO ANYBODY WHO WORKS WITH PROJECT MANAGEMENT.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THIS SYSTEM MEANS.
WE NEED A FUNCTIONAL, PURPOSEFUL WAY OF GETTING THE WORK DONE, UM, AT A SYSTEMIC LEVEL.
SO, I MEAN, I, I JUST CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MUCH I HAVE REALLY JUST APPRECIATED, AND QUITE FRANKLY, REALLY LOVE THE WAY THAT THIS CURRENT ADMINISTRATION IS TACKLING, UM, THE PERSISTENT ISSUES THAT WE'VE HAD.
IF, IF I COULD JUST DIGRESS FOR ONE SECOND.
UH, YOU KNOW, THIS HAS BEEN A, A DIFFICULT PROBLEM SINCE INTEGRATION, BECAUSE SINCE INTEGRATION SPECIAL ED HAS BEEN USED TO REMOVE OUR DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS AND NOT TO DIAGNOSE LEGITIMATE ISSUES THAT CAN BE ADDRESSED.
AND WHAT I'M GONNA BE INTERESTED IN IS, AS YOU HAVE BROKEN OUT ALL OF THE THINGS THAT NEED TO BE DONE AND SOME OF THE COSTS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH IT, UH, WHETHER TA WILL ALIGN ITSELF AND ALLOW YOU TO MAKE CHANGES THAT I DON'T SEE OR HAVE NOT SEEN IN ANY NUMBER OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS, BECAUSE THE NAACP, WHEN I WAS PRESIDENT, SUED THE SCHOOL DISTRICT FOUR TIMES, UH, BECAUSE A LOT OF THE KIDS WHO FAILED THE TASS EXAM WERE ROUTED TO SPECIAL ED BECAUSE SPECIAL ED KIDS DID NOT HAVE TO TAKE THE TA EXAM.
SO, UM, IF WE CAN TRULY GET TO A POINT WHERE SPECIAL ED BECOMES DIAGNOSTIC, AND WHETHER, AND WHETHER WE CAN RUN A SYSTEM THAT ACTUALLY HELPS KIDS WILL HAVE A LOT TO DO WITH WHETHER TE WILL RECEIVE, UNDERSTAND, AND ALLOW, UH, THIS LEVEL, THIS LEVEL OF ANALYSIS.
UH, COMMISSIONER, I, I WILL TELL YOU THAT, UM, WE ARE APPROACHING THIS IN A COLLABORATIVE MANNER WITH TE UM, I THINK THE APPROACH THAT WE'RE TAKING
[01:35:01]
IS WELL RECEIVED BY THEM.I THINK IN THE PAST, FOR RIGHT, WRONG OR IN DIFFERENT, A I C WOULD COMMIT TO MILESTONES, BUT NOT NECESSARILY GET THERE AS TIME PASSED.
AND I THINK A LOT OF THAT WAS JUST PROVING UP, YOU KNOW, HOW WE ACTUALLY DO IT.
UH, BUT YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M TELLING OUR TEAMS, YOU KNOW, LET'S DESEGREGATE THE DATA.
LET'S FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, DO OUR STUDENTS ACTUALLY NEED THESE SERVICES? OR DO THEY NEED TIER TWO INSTRUCTION, RIGHT? DO WE NEED TIER THREE INSTRUCTION? ARE WE, ARE WE PROVID PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR OUR TEACHERS TO ENSURE THAT STUDENTS DON'T MOVE INTO A PROCESS THAT DOESN'T SERVE THEM? AND SO ALL OF THAT IS, THAT'S WHERE THE ACADEMIC ASPECT OF IT COMES TOGETHER.
UH, AND, AND WE ARE PUSHING QUITE AGGRESSIVELY AS YOU MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UH, JUST A COUPLE POINTS OF WHERE WE'RE GOING.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE GONNA CONTINUE TO PROVIDE UPDATES, UH, IN RECRUITMENT IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL FOR US.
UH, WE'RE WORKING WITH THE BOARD RIGHT NOW TO DEVELOP AN AGGRESSIVE COMPENSATION PACKAGE.
YOU'LL SEE IN IT ONCE DELIVERED THAT IT IS HYPER-FOCUSED ON ATTRACTING THE RESOURCES WE NEED TO COMPLETE THIS WORK.
UH, IF YOU CAN IMAGINE, YOU KNOW, ATTRACTING, YOU KNOW, WHAT, 35% OF THE ACTUAL AVAILABLE, UM, YOU KNOW, GROUP OF PEOPLE, IT, YOU HAVE TO BE COMPETITIVE, RIGHT? AND SO, UH, WE'RE MOVING THROUGH IT.
UM, I WILL TELL YOU THAT WE'RE MAKING ADJUSTMENTS IN REFINING.
WE ARE CONTINUING TO PROVIDE UPDATES, UH, AND AS WE WORK WITH TE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS, WE'LL HAVE UPDATES NOT ONLY TO, UM, OUR COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO TO ALL OF OUR STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING Y'ALL.
UM, I KNOW WE NEED TO TRANSITION TO ANOTHER PRESENTATION, BUT WANT TO MAKE SURE THERE IS SPACE FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU ALL MAY HAVE REGARDING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES.
DOES THE, UM, IS THERE ESSENTIALLY THE EFFECT OF A DEATH PENALTY FOR THE DISTRICT? IF YOU CAN'T GET OUT FROM UNDER THIS PENALTY ORDER OR WHATEVER IT'S CALLED, DO THEY THEN TAKE OVER EVERYTHING IF YOU CAN'T MEET SOME METRIC BY SOME DATE? SO ONE OF THE THINGS, UH, SO YES, BUT MANY, MANY, MANY, MANY THINGS HAVE TO HAVE TO OCCUR.
UM, FOR US, IT'S JUST, I, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE COMMUNITY TO KNOW WHAT'S AT STAKE.
I DID NOT UNDERSTAND, FOR INSTANCE, WITH HOUSTON, THAT IF ONE SCHOOL, UH, FAILED PER A CERTAIN A NUMBER OF YEARS, THAT THET COULD COME IN AND TAKE OVER THE ENTIRE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS THAT YOU'RE NOW UNDER CONSERVATORSHIP FOR THIS PROGRAM.
AND I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCE IS IF YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO TURN IT AROUND BY WHATEVER THEIR REQUIREMENTS ARE.
SO I'LL START, MAYBE PRESIDENT SEEING IF YOU'D LIKE TO CHIME IN.
UH, I WOULD SAY FIRST AND FOREMOST, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO IDENTIFY WHAT THE SEPARATION PARAMETERS, UM, ARE WITH TE, RIGHT? SO, AND, AND THAT'S WHERE, WHAT DOES THAT MEANS? SO WHAT IS OUR GOAL? OKAY.
NOW, WE, WE, LIKE TE SAYS WE NEED TO CORRECT A PROBLEM.
WE AGREE, WE'RE, WE'RE IN AGREEMENT, WE NEED TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM.
BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? DOES THAT MEAN A HUNDRED PERCENT OF EVALUATIONS IN A SYSTEM OF THIS SIZE? WELL, THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY REALISTIC.
SO WE ARE COMMISSIONING, UH, AN AUDIT.
UM, IT'S ACTUALLY A, A COLLABORATION WITH TE OUT OF THAT AUDIT WILL COME THE RECOMMENDATION FOR THE GOAL THAT WE HAVE TO MEET OVER A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME.
I WILL TELL YOU THAT THE, THE TIMEFRAME IS GENERALLY ABOUT TWO YEARS.
UH, AND EVERY NINE WEEKS, THE COMMISSIONER REVIEWS KIND OF THE PROGRESS THAT WE'VE MADE AND MAKES ADJUSTMENTS AT THAT POINT.
UH, AND SO, YOU KNOW, OVER THAT PERIOD OF TIME, WE WILL GET TO A PLACE WHERE WE'RE, WE'LL BE OUT OF IT.
YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS AND OUR COMMUNITIES THAT IF WE DO NOT DO THIS, AND WE ARE NOT COMMITTED, THERE COULD BE AT SOME POINT IN THE DISTANT FUTURE, THAT POSSIBILITY.
I NO PRESIDENT SING IF YOU'D LIKE TO YES.
AND WE ARE TAKING IT EXTREMELY SERIOUSLY.
THE CONSERVATORSHIP IS JUST ONE STEP BELOW A TAKEOVER, AND A CONSERVATOR CAN, AS, UM, MR. SEGO MENTIONED, THEY CAN OVERRIDE ANY DECISIONS WE MAKE AS A BOARD.
THEY WON'T REPLACE THE BOARD, BUT THEY CAN BASICALLY MAKE DECISIONS ON ANY PROGRAM AREA THAT IMPACTS SPECIAL EDUCATION, WHICH COULD BE ANYTHING FROM FACILITIES TO HR OR BUDGET.
IT'S A LINE ITEM BASED ON DETAIL, CORRECT? YEAH, IT IS.
WE ARE TAKING EXTREMELY SERIOUSLY.
AND, UM, WE ARE, WE'RE KIND OF RUNNING OUT OF TIME, BUT I DO WANNA ADDRESS THE ISSUE THAT YOU JUST BROUGHT UP IS VERY RELEVANT TO THE NEXT TOPIC, WHICH IS MENDEZ.
UM, AND THANK YOU COUNCILWOMAN FUENTES FOR BEING HERE, BECAUSE THAT LIES IN YOUR DISTRICT, BUT IT'S A SCHOOL THAT BELONGS TO ALL OF US.
AND IF YOU DON'T MIND, LET'S SWITCH OVER TO THAT TOPIC, BECAUSE THAT ONE'S JUST AS URGENT.
UH, UM, SO WANTED TO PROVIDE A BRIEF UPDATE REGARDING MENDEZ'S MIDDLE SCHOOL.
UH, IF WE COULD GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
I JUST WANT TO PROVIDE A, A BRIEF HISTORY OF MENDES MIDDLE SCHOOL AND SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY HAS FACED OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.
UH, SO GOING BACK TO 2013, YOU CAN SEE THE ENROLLMENT OF 8 86 AND THE
[01:40:01]
MET STANDARD.SO, YOU KNOW, THE STATE OF TEXAS THROUGH TE HAS DIFFERENT STANDARDS THAT THEY REVIEW AND UPDATE EVERY SO OFTEN.
WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING THROUGH A REVISION RIGHT NOW.
UH, SO THE MET STANDARD RATING WAS AN ACCEPTABLE RATING AT THAT TIME.
SO WE GO BACK TO 2013, CUZ THAT WAS THE LAST TIME THAT WE FEEL AS THOUGH MENDEZ WAS A STABLE SCHOOL COMMUNITY WITH A, A RATING THAT WE ALL, YOU KNOW, CAN, CAN, CAN ACKNOWLEDGE AND APPRECIATE.
SO FROM 2014 TO 2016, YOU CAN SEE WE SAW A REDUCTION IN ENROLLMENT.
UH, WE, UM, THROUGH THE, UH, TESTING, UM, AT THAT TIME, THE STATE TESTING, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE IMPROVEMENT REQUIRED WAS PLACED AT MENDEZ THREE CONSECUTIVE YEARS, ACTUALLY FIVE CONSECUTIVE YEARS THROUGH 2018.
UH, THE ENROLLMENT CONTINUED TO DECLINE, UH, UNTIL 2018.
I KNOW MANY OF Y'ALL HAVE SEEN MENDEZ.
MANY OF Y'ALL HAVE PROBABLY EVEN BEEN IN MENDEZ.
IT'S QUITE A, A LARGE CAMPUS, UM, MIDDLE SCHOOL-WISE.
AND SO YOU CAN IMAGINE WHAT A REDUCTION IN ENROLLMENT WOULD FEEL LIKE AT THAT CAMPUS, UH, IN 2018.
UH, THE STATE OF TEXAS, UH, AND IS D UH, ENGAGED IN A PARTNERSHIP? UH, THIS WAS IN AN EFFORT TO, UM, KIND OF, KIND OF PULL MENDEZ BACK, UH, TO A STABLE PLACE, ACCOUNTABILITY WISE.
WAS IT, UH, IT WAS, IT WAS MANDATED, CORRECT? WELL, YES, IT WAS MANDATED, UH, FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM.
THE ACCOUNTABILITY RATING WAS THEN, UH, F AT 606.
AND AS YOU MOVED TO THE NEXT COUPLE SLIDES, I'M NOT SURE WHO'S CONTROLLING THE SLIDES.
IT GOT WORSE UNDER THE CHARTER, UH, SCHOOL THAT YOU WERE REQUIRED TO BRING IN BYT.
SO, GENERALLY, SO I, I WOULD SAY THAT THAT PARTNERSHIP WAS NOT THE, THE ACTUAL FORMAL REQUIRED PARTNERSHIP.
I THINK AIS T AT THE TIME, ENGAGED WITH A PARTNER KIND OF IDENTIFIED THIS WAS A LIKELIHOOD.
SO IT WASN'T, I WOULD SAY, MANDATED BY TA, WHICH IS WHY YOU SAW ME PAUSE THERE.
IT WAS KIND OF A FOREGONE CONCLUSION THAT WE WOULD GET THERE.
SO WE AT THAT TIME, KIND OF INITIATED IT.
SO IT WASN'T TA SAYING THIS, IT WAS, HEY, WE NEED TO GO GET A PARTNER AND HELP US OUT, IS ESSENTIALLY WHAT HAPPENED.
NOW, HERE IS MOVING TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
YOU WILL SEE, UH, IN 2020, NOT RATED STATED, GO BACK.
UH, SIX, UH, 616 ENROLLMENT 20 21, 5 73.
IF YOU RECALL, THIS IS DUE TO COVID, THE PANDEMIC.
UM, THE STATE OF TEXAS, THE COMMISSIONER T UM, DID, UM, ALL IDENTIFIED NOT RATED CAMPUSES AS CAMPUSES THAT WOULD, WOULD'VE LIKELY RECEIVED A D R F.
UH, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE IS THROUGH THIS TIME, WE DID HAVE THAT PARTNER IN PLACE, UH, IN DECEMBER OF 2021.
WELL, TWO AND A HALF YEARS AGO, UH, THE BOARD VOTED TO TERMINATE ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH THE STEM COALITION.
SO AT THAT POINT, WE HAD A PARTNER, RIGHT, THAT, UM, WHERE THEY HAD THE CONTROL OVER THE, THE, THE STAFF, THE PRINCIPAL, THE WAY THAT THEY, UM, INSTRUCTED ALL OF THAT WAS THEIRS.
AIC HAD VERY LITTLE INFLUENCE, IF ANY, UH, INTO KIND OF THE CULTURE AND CLIMATE OF THAT CAMPUS.
UM, AT THAT TIME, A I D I THINK ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE PARTNERSHIP WAS NOT MOVING IN THE DIRECTION THAT WE'D HOPED.
AND THE AGREEMENT WITH THAT, UH, COALITION WAS TERMINATED.
AND SO, UH, SHORTLY THEREAFTER, IN MARCH OF 2022, WHICH IS JUST A YEAR AGO, A I C THEN ENTERED A NEW PARTNERSHIP, UH, WITH THIRD FUTURES.
AND I THINK WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE HERE THAT'S NOT INCLUDED ON THE SLIDE IS BECAUSE WE ENGAGE WITH A NEW PARTNER, WE ACTUALLY RECEIVED AN ADDITIONAL YEAR.
SO, UM, YOU'LL SEE HERE IN THE NEXT SLIDE, WE'RE NOT QUITE READY TO MOVE YOU THERE YET, BUT IN THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE THAT THAT NEXT YEAR DOES HAVE AN IMPACT ON WHERE WE ARE TODAY.
SO THE PARTNERSHIP WAS EXECUTED IN 2022.
UM, WE, AT THAT POINT ALSO, UH, UM, MADE THE, UM, DECISION TO MOVE SIXTH GRADE OUT OF MENDEZ.
I'M NOT SURE HOW MANY OF Y'ALL ARE AWARE OF THIS, BUT, UM, AT THE END OF LAST YEAR, THE DECISION WAS MADE BY THE ADMINISTRATION TO PULL OUT SIXTH GRADE FROM BOTH MENDES AND MARTIN.
AND, UH, THOSE STUDENTS REMAINED AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, UH, WHERE THEY ATTENDED FIFTH GRADE.
NOW, THERE'S SOME NUANCE TO THAT, BUT GENERALLY SPEAKING, THEY STAYED AT THE, AT THEIR HOME CAMPUSES.
SO FAST FORWARD, UM, TO, TO 20 22, 20 23, WHICH IS THIS YEAR, OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THEIR FUTURES IS IN PLACE.
UH, THEY ARE, UM, WORKING WITH THE STUDENTS AND THEY ARE, UM, MOVING TOWARDS, UH, AN ACCOUNTABILITY RATING OF C OR BETTER.
THAT'S THE GOAL, RIGHT? AND THAT WOULD EFFECTIVELY BREAK THE CHAIN, UH, BECAUSE ON THE NEXT SLIDE, IF YOU COULD MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU CAN SEE AS, UH, PRESIDENT SINGH MENTIONED THAT THERE ARE STEPS ALONG THE WAY, YEAR BY YEAR, THAT IF MENDES MIDDLE SCHOOL DOES NOT MEET ACCOUNTABILITY OR IMPROVE, OR ACTION ISN'T TAKEN BY THE BOARD, A, UM, A SCHOOL OF MANAGERS COULD BE PLACED, OR A CONSERVATOR COULD BE PLACED, OR THE SCHOOL COULD BE IDENTIFIED FOR CLOSURE.
ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE, ARE UP FOR CONSIDERATION IF WE DON'T GET MENDEZ BACK ON TRACK.
[01:45:01]
VERY GOOD SLIDE.I THINK IT HELPS COMMUNICATE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THE ACCOUNTABILITY, THE BREAK AND THE CHAIN, AND THEN WHAT OCCURS AT EACH STEP BASED ON, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE ARE AND WHO HAS WHAT AUTHORITY TO DO.
WHAT I WOULD SAY AS RIGHT, AS OF RIGHT NOW, A I S D HAS LIMITED OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE WITH THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY.
UH, SO I WOULD SAY THAT WITH THIRD FUTURES, BECAUSE WE HAVE A CONTRACT, WE DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO, TO, UM, I WOULD SAY DICTATE THE WAY THAT INSTRUCTION OCCURS AT MENDES.
WE ALLOW THEM THE SPACE, UM, BECAUSE THAT'S PART OF THE AGREEMENT.
AND THE AGREEMENT HAD TO BE REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY TE TO DO WHAT THEY THINK IS BEST.
UH, AND SO THEY PROVIDE UPDATES TO THE BOARD.
THERE WAS ONE THAT WAS PROVIDED JUST LAST MONTH.
THERE'LL BE ONE AGAIN IN JUNE.
AND SO FOR US, WE'RE ALWAYS TAKING INFORMATION AND TRYING TO DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE BEST STEPS ARE FOR MENDEZ MIDDLE SCHOOL, CUZ THOSE ARE OUR STUDENTS.
UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD TO THE NEXT SLIDE, JUST BRIEFLY, CAN I JUST CLARIFY? YEP.
SO IF THEY, UH, ARE SUCCESSFUL AT THE END OF THIS YEAR AND GETTING A C AVERAGE OR BETTER, THAT BREAKS THE CHAIN.
THAT BREAKS THE CHAIN OF THE STATE BEING ABLE TO COME IN AND TAKE OVER.
AND IS THAT YEAH, YEAR TO YEAR THING, IT DOESN'T RESET THE CLOCK FOR ANOTHER LIKE THREE YEARS IN A ROW OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? IT, IT DOES NOT, IT, IT TRULY BREAKS THE CHAIN.
SO IF MENDEZ WERE TO MAKE A C IT WOULD BREAK THE CHAIN.
IF THEY MAKE A D THEN THIS YEAR EFFECTIVELY BECOMES A BASELINE YEAR.
THEN THEY HAVE ONE ADDITIONAL YEAR TO MAKE A C.
SO EFFECTIVELY WE'VE GOT TWO YEARS, UH, TO HIT THAT MARK.
UM, WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING TO SUPPORT, YOU KNOW, THEM IN THAT EFFORT.
WHAT THEY WANT IS WHAT WE WANT, WHICH IS TO GET MENDES TO A STABLE POSITION.
UM, SO AS FAR AS THIRD, UH, THIRD FUTURE PARTNERSHIP, I, I DO WANT TO MAKE SURE IT'S COMMUNICATED HERE THAT WE ARE COLLABORATING WITH THEM.
UH, AND, AND CUZ THEY ARE OUR STUDENTS, WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY UNDERSTANDS THAT WE'RE HERE FOR THEM.
UH, SO WE ARE WORKING WITH THEM, UH, QUITE CLOSELY.
UM, AND, AND THAT'LL CONTINUE.
SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD, I THINK THERE'S A COUPLE THINGS THAT I, I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT.
THE FIRST IS THAT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DEVELOP A COMMUNICATIONS, I MEAN AN ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY AROUND THE EDUCATION PLAN.
THIS IS, IS THE NEXT SLIDE FOR MARTIN MENDES, UH, AND THE SIXTH GRADE STUDENTS.
SO WHEN I THINK ABOUT THIS AREA, THINK ABOUT THE NEEDS OF ALL OF OUR STUDENTS, AND WE NEED TO MAKE SOME SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IF WE'RE GONNA STABILIZE THESE SCHOOL COMMUNITIES.
UH, YOU THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, MENDES RIGHT NOW WITH THE PARTNERSHIP THAT WE HAVE, MARTIN HAS DECLINE, HAS HAD DECLINING ENROLLMENT.
NE BOTH OF THEM DO NOT HAVE SIXTH GRADE.
AND SO ALL OF THESE DECISIONS WERE MADE IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT PAST.
WE NEED TO EVALUATE AND DETERMINE AS A COMMUNITY WHAT'S THE BEST PATH FORWARD FOR OUR STUDENTS.
AND SO WE ARE LOOKING AT DEVELOPING A COMMUNITY COALITION TO DETERMINE LIKE WHAT THE LONG-TERM VISION IS FOR OUR STUDENTS IN THESE COMMUNITIES.
UH, AND THEN THAT WILL HELP INFORM THE STEPS THE BOARD TAKES ALONG WITH THE ADMINISTRATION, YOU KNOW, FOR EACH OF THESE SCHOOLS.
SO THERE'S A LOT HAPPENING, UM, BUT WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT Y'ALL ARE AWARE THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING TO Y'ALL AS WE PARTNER.
UH, TRUSTEE STEPHA AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, FUENTES HAVE BEEN INCREDIBLE AND, AND THERE'S A LOT MORE WORK TO BE DONE, BUT, UH, IT, IT'S GONNA REQUIRE ALL OF US WORKING TOGETHER TO, TO GET THIS WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE.
UM, AND I, I'M JUST GONNA ASK ONE QUESTION.
I KNOW IF WE COULD HAVE A FOLLOW UP MEETING THAT'D BE GREAT.
UM, WITH THE TRUSTEE SEPATA, OUR AT LARGE TRUSTEES, THAT WOULD BE SUPER HELPFUL.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THIS INFORMATION.
IS THERE, WHAT ADDITIONAL RESOURCES MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO A I C AT THIS POINT, GIVEN THE, THE SEVERE NATURE THAT WE'RE IN WITH MENDEZ MIDDLE SCHOOL? WHAT WOULD BE MOST HELPFUL AT THIS TIME FROM THE CITY AND FROM THE COUNTY
UH, AND IN MY MIND, THAT MAY BE A RESOLUTION.
UM, YOU KNOW, CUZ WE'LL HAVE TO SPEND RESOURCES, RIGHT? WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO ENGAGE WITH OUR COMMUNITIES.
THAT'S GONNA REQUIRE TIME, IT'S GONNA REQUIRE PARTNERS.
UH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET TO OUR COMMUNITIES.
MANY OF OUR FAMILIES ARE WORKING MULTIPLE JOBS, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO GET TO THE SCHOOLS, BUT WE NEED TO GET TO THEM.
UH, AND, AND WE HAVE RESOURCES, BUT Y'ALL HAVE NETWORKS THAT WE OFTEN CAN'T ENGAGE WITH.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, ON THE RESOURCE SIDE, I THINK THAT'S PART OF THE PLANNING THAT'S GONNA COME OUT OF THIS.
I, I THINK AT THIS POINT, NOT UNLIKE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT Y'ALL HAVE PUT ON THAT, ON THAT TABLE BEHIND ME OR ON THAT WALL, IT'S, IT NEEDS TO BE LIKE A CLEAR LIKE ALIGNMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND A I S D TO CO-PLAN TO FIGURE THIS OUT FOR THIS PART OF TOWN.
LIKE THAT, THAT TO ME WOULD BE REALLY IMPACTFUL.
UM, AND SO I, WE CAN TALK ABOUT WHAT THAT MIGHT LOOK LIKE IN A FUTURE MEETING.
AS FAR AS FUNDS GO AND THINGS LIKE THAT, I THINK AT THIS POINT WE'RE PRETTY WELL POSITIONED.
UH, BUT WE NEED THOUGHT PARTNERS AND WE NEED COMMITMENTS TO DO THE WORK.
UM, MADAM CHAIR, I, I THINK THAT,
[01:50:01]
UM, IT, IT'S GOING TO BE IMPORTANT FOR US TO, UH, TO BUILD COMMUNITY NETWORKS.THE PLACE WHERE I'VE SEEN IT DONE THE BEST, UH, WAS INITIALLY THROUGH THE AUSTIN PROJECT AND THE WORK AND PLANNING THAT IT DID IN THE ST.
IT BASICALLY IDENTIFIED A WHOLE LOT OF THE RESOURCES AND STARTED CREATING MEETINGS.
ALAN WEEKS AND HIS TEAM, UH, WAS A PART OF THAT.
UM, I, I THINK THAT IT IS IMPORTANT TO TAKE THE BLUEPRINT, THE AUSTIN PROJECT, AV BLUEPRINT.
NOW YOU MIGHT ADD OTHER THINGS TO IT THAT ARE COMMUNITY DRIVEN, BUT THEY DID A GOOD JOB OF IDENTIFYING THINGS THAT COULD BE DONE.
AND, AND WE USE THAT TYPE OF PROCESS WITH THE COMMUNITY RESILIENCY TRUST AS WE DEVELOPED AN OUTREACH PLAN DURING THE PANDEMIC.
BUT I THINK THAT ON PAPER AND WITH DOCUMENTATION, UH, THE ST.
JOHN PROJECT REALLY LAYS OUT, UH, HOW TO WORK WITH COMMUN WITH COMMUNITY AND, AND, UM, AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE THAT AND, AND, UM, AND WE ARE CERTAINLY WILLING TO BE HELPFUL BECAUSE A LOT OF THE PLACES THAT NEED THE MOST ATTENTION ARE IN THE EASTERN CRESCENT, AND WE WANNA BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION.
I THINK IT IS A, A REASONABLE, A REGIONAL APPROACH TO THE WORK.
I, I DO SPEAK TO, TO ALAN QUITE A BIT, UM, CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THE COMMUNITY AND SCHOOLS MODEL.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, SO I'M RIGHT THERE WITH YOU AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT'S GONNA TAKE, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT TYPE OF EFFORT.
IT'S WHAT'S GONNA BE REQUIRED TO, TO, TO DO THIS CORRECTLY.
AND, AND THE COUNTY IS A FUNDER OF THE AUSTIN VOICES AND EDUCATION INITIATIVE, UH, THAT ALAN'S UNDERTAKING AT WEB.
UM, SO I THINK THIS NEEDS TO BE A RUNNING ITEM ON OUR, OUR COMMITTEE AGENDA.
AND BECAUSE IFT COMES IN AND, AND SO IF I'M UNDERSTANDING, THEY WOULD TAKE OVER THE SPECIAL ED OPERATIONS IF THERE'S A CONTINUED FAILURE, OR COULD THEY TAKE OVER THE ENTIRE SCHOOL DISTRICT? SO THERE'S TWO THINGS, TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.
SPECIAL ED, AND THEN THERE'S THE MENDEZ.
WITH MENDEZ, IF WE CONTINUE TO, UM, FAIL, GET AN F IN THAT SCHOOL, THEY CAN TAKE OVER THE WHOLE DISTRICT.
I THINK WE DO HAVE AN OPTION ALSO TO, TO CLOSE DOWN THE SCHOOL AND REOPEN IT IF SOMETHING ELSE.
BUT IF, IF WE ASSUME IT STAYS OPEN, THAT'S, THAT'S HOW YOU GET TO A TAKEOVER WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION.
THERE'S NOT NECESSARILY A CLEAR PATH TO A TAKEOVER BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T DONE THE AUDIT YET, AND THEY HAVEN'T TOLD US YET WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR.
BUT WE OURSELVES ARE HOLDING OURSELVES ACCOUNTABLE TO CERTAIN THINGS.
BUT WE DON'T KNOW YET WHAT, WHAT TA'S GONNA, UM, BRING TO US.
WELL, I, I THINK THERE'S, UM, A LEGITIMATE FEAR ON THE PART OF THE COMMUNITY.
IF TA WERE TO COME IN AND TAKE FOR SURE, THERE'S NOT ALIGNMENT AT ALL ON, ON VALUES AND ON GOALS AND ON, UM, EVEN RESPECTING THE COMMUNITY.
SO, UM, I THINK THIS NEEDS TO BE ON OUR AGENDA AND, UM, UH, I THINK THERE'S VALUE IN US BRAINSTORMING HOW ELSE WE CAN, UH, BE OF SUPPORT.
SO I WANNA DO A QUICK TIME CHECK.
WE'RE ALREADY AT 1 31, SO I HAVE NOT DONE A GREAT JOB WITH TIME MANAGEMENT IN THIS MEETING, BUT I WANTED TO, ARE YOU GUYS OKAY? IF WE HAVE FIVE MORE MINUTES JUST FOR THE WHOLE MEETING? I THINK WE CAN WRAP UP THE OTHER STUFF, BUT I WANTED TO GIVE
UM, AS YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT PARTNERS, UM, YOU KNOW, HAS BEEN, AISD HAS BEEN IN A, A SITUATION LIKE THIS BEFORE WHEN WE WERE, UH, WORKING IN EAST AUSTIN SCHOOLS WHERE THE ISSUE IS AGAIN, UH, AND IT'S ALL THAT ORGANIZING WORK WITH, UM, WITH CENTRAL TEXAS INTERFAITH AND THE ALIGNED SCHOOLS.
SO WE HAVE HISTORY OF SUCCESS FROM ZALA BEING, UH, THE NUMBER 64 64 SCHOOLS THAT BECAME A BLUE RIBBON SCHOOL.
SO, AND IT'S ALL ABOUT REALLY BRINGING IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO I KNOW THAT'S ANOTHER RESOURCE.
UH, AND, AND THEY'RE STILL VERY STRONG AND ACTIVE IN EAST AUSTIN.
SO I JUST WANTED TO, TO PUT THAT OUT THERE THAT, UH, WE CAN BE SUCCESSFUL, UH, WITH THE COMMUNITY.
CHRISTINE, JUST REALLY QUICKLY, UM, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS UP.
I THINK THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE HELP SECTION OF, OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO SOS THINK ABOUT IN TERMS OF HOW WE'RE, HOW WE'RE, HOW WE'RE DOING THINGS.
AND, AND I APPRECIATE YOU RAISING, RAISING THE ISSUES AND APPRECIATE COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES COMING.
UM, I THINK THIS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF WHERE WE ALL NEED TO, TO WORK TOGETHER TO, TO HELP US ACHIEVE WHAT OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS, UM, TO THRIVE.
REALLY APPRECIATE THAT SENTIMENT.
SO IF YOU DON'T MIND, I'M GONNA, UM, THANK YOU MR. SIGU.
HE'S DOING AN AMAZING JOB, BY THE WAY.
I JUST HAVE TO, I HAVE TO BRAG.
WE, ONE OF THE MAIN COMPLAINTS TA HAD, AND WE HAD OURSELVES ABOUT OURSELVES WAS THE BACKLOG OF EVALUATIONS.
BUT IN THIS SCHOOL YEAR, WE'VE ALREADY COMPLETED 45% MORE
[01:55:01]
EVALUATIONS THAN WE DID THE ENTIRE PREVIOUS SCHOOL YEAR.AND WE STILL HAVE LIKE FIVE WEEKS LEFT IN THIS SCHOOL YEAR.
AND THIS IS WITH LIKE, PROBABLY FEWER STAFF.
SO THAT, THAT BIG GANTT CHART, THAT GANTT CHART, YOU SAW IT CREATED EFFICIENCIES WITHOUT SACRIFICING QUALITY.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF.
[VI. Written Reports]
ON VERY QUICKLY.SO WE HAVE A RE REPORT ON RESILIENCE HUBS, AND I APOLOGIZE THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO DEVOTE MUCH TIME TO IT.
BUT I DID WANNA GIVE AN OPPORTUNITY IF ANYBODY HAD ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, THE REPORT IS IN YOUR PACKET.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS THAT ANYBODY HAD, OR IF THERE'S ANYONE FROM THE STAFF THAT WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT? I'D JUST LIKE TO MAKE A REQUEST IF WE CAN.
UM, OH, IS LAURA PATINA GONNA SPEAK? YES.
HI, JOINTS HELP COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THAT, UM, WE'VE BEEN INTEGRATING ALL RESILIENCE HUB'S EFFORT INTO CURRENT EMERGENCY OPERATION, UH, EMERGENCY OPERATIONS.
UH, THE REPORT THAT YOU SEE IN FRONT OF YOU REALLY HAS AN, UH, TWO MAJOR SIGNIFICANT UPDATES.
ONE IS A PROPOSED FUNDING PLAN, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT, THAT REALLY SUMMARIZE HOW WE'RE GOING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH COMMUNITY OUTREACH.
UH, A COMMUNITY STIPEND FUND AND REALLY LOOKING AT, UH, THE PROGRAMMING SIDE OF RESILIENCE HUBS RELATED TO HEALTH AND RELATED TO OTHER PLANNING AND ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES FOR THE FUTURE.
UM, THE OTHER KEY HIGHLIGHT IS HOW THAT IT'S BEING INCORPORATED INTO EMERGENCY OPERATIONS.
AND YOU WILL SEE, UM, IN, IN THE PROPOSED SPEND, WHICH IS ON, ON PAGE THREE OF THE DOCUMENT, UM, THAT IT TALKS ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND SO THAT IS WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, LOOKING TO COMPLEMENT, UH, REDUNDANT POWER SYSTEMS AND THEN IMPLEMENTATION OF THOSE.
UM, THE LAST FINAL COMMENT, AND I KNOW I HAVE TO KEEP IT, UH, SUPER SHORT AND SWEET, IS JUST TO, UH, REMIND, UH, THIS COMMITTEE THAT RESILIENCE HUBS ARE ONE, IS ONE TOOL IN THE TOOLBOX THAT WE HAVE FOR AN ENTIRE RESILIENCE PROGRAM.
AND SO IN THE COMING WEEKS, WE WILL BE RELEASING THE FIRST ITERATION OF OUR COMPREHENSIVE RESILIENCE FRAMEWORK THAT WE'VE DEVELOPING, UM, FOR, FOR THE PAST YEAR.
AND SO THAT WILL HELP BRING OTHER ELEMENTS OF RESILIENCE INTO THE DISCUSSION BEYOND RESILIENCE HUBS THAT WERE TOUCHED ON, UM, EARLIER IN THIS MEETING TODAY.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR LAURA? UH, I THINK AS IT, UM, UH, DEVELOPS FURTHER, IT WOULD BE, IT'D BE USEFUL TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME ON IT.
WE HAD, UM, SET ASIDE A MILLION, UM, 600,000 AT THE COUNTY FOR, UH, RESILIENCE EFFORTS.
WE'VE GOTTEN A VERY ROUGH DRAFT PROPOSED SPENDING PLAN.
AND I DON'T KNOW HOW IT, UM, COORDINATES WITH THIS RESILIENT PLAN RESILIENCE HUBS PLAN.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S PART OF THE CONVERSATION THAT'S HAPPENING AMONG THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, UH, IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
SO THAT WOULD BE USEFUL FOR ME TO HAVE A, A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF.
AND, UM, AND YES, UH, THE, WHAT RESILIENCE HUBS ARE NOT IS A USEFUL, UM, DESCRIPTION AS WELL.
CAUSE I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE DO THINK OF THEM AS BEING SHELTERS, MAYBE NOT OVERNIGHT SLEEPING SHELTERS, BUT DAY SHELTERS.
UM, SO I THINK, UM, A LITTLE MORE TIME IN A FUTURE MEETING WOULD BE, WOULD BE VALUABLE ALSO TO GIVE US A SENSE OF WHERE WE ARE AS A THREE PARTY ENTITY WORKING ON THIS.
AND JUST AS, UH, ONE POINT, UH, AFTER, AFTER, UH, STORM URI, UH, WE PUT TOGETHER AN AFTER ACTION REPORT THAT LAID OUT ALL THAT WE DID.
I THINK IT'S QUITE INSTRUCTIVE AND IT WORKS THROUGH OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TEAM.
SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO GET A COPY OF THAT AND SEE HOW WE CAN ALIGN.
REALLY APPRECIATE THAT UPDATE.
[VII. Standing Items]
NEXT WE ARE GONNA, JUST THE STANDING ITEMS. UH, THE NEXT, UH, BASICALLY WE HAVE UNFINISHED BUSINESS, NEW BUSINESS, PROPOSED FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UM, I THINK I'VE HEARD ABOUT MENDEZ AND SPED BEING INCLUDED ON THE NEXT AGENDA.WE CAN DO A LONGER DISCUSSION ON THE RESILIENCE HUBS AND MAYBE NEXT STEPS IN SOME OF THIS.
I THINK THE NEXT MEETING'S GONNA BE AT THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT.
SO WE'LL JUST COORDINATE AND, AND THINK ABOUT WHAT WE MIGHT WANNA HAVE ON THAT AGENDA.
IS, DOES ANYBODY HAVE A COMMENT? UH, JUST A NOTE FOR FOLKS.
CAUSE I, I, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW THAT THIS IS BEING COORDINATED WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, BUT IT SEEMS, MIKE, PLEASE, IT SEEMS TO ME IT SHOULD BE.
UM, THE, UM, INTEGRAL CARE AND
[02:00:01]
COUNTY STAFF CAME FORWARD ON TUESDAY WITH A REQUEST FOR US TO FUND $270,000 IN YOUTH AND CHILD, UM, UH, MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS, SUICIDE PREVENTION PROGRAMS. UM, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT THING TO BE COORDINATING WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT ON.AND WE DID VOTE TO FUND THAT YESTERDAY IN OUR ARPA ALLOCATIONS.
UM, IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S A, A TRUE HAIR ON FIRE PROBLEM.
THEY'RE JUST EXTREMELY ALARMING STATISTICS ABOUT THE RATES OF IT.
AND, UM, IF YOU'RE NOT AWARE THAT IT'S UNDERWAY, INTEGRAL CARE IS HEADING IT UP.
UH, PILAR, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY MORE INFORMATION TO ADD ABOUT WHO OUR KEY STAFF AT THE COUNTY ARE THAT ARE WORKING ON IT, OR MAYBE THE CITY DOES, BUT WE VOTED $270,000 IN FUNDING ON IT YESTERDAY.
THE, THE CITY OF BOSTON, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH IS PARTNERING WITH INTEGRAL CARE IN THE COUNTY, AND BETWEEN THE THREE OF US, THERE'LL BE AN, UH, AN AWARENESS CAMPAIGN AND THERE'S ALSO, UM, $170,000 THAT THE COUNTY ALLOCATED TOWARDS EXPANDING TRAINING ON MENTAL HEALTH FOR STATE, UH, REGARDING YOUTH.
SO THAT DEFINITELY IS SOMETHING THAT WE'D LIKE TO PARTNER WITH A I D ON.
OKAY, SO WE'LL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU ALL ON THAT.
SO WHO, WHO SPECIFICALLY IS THE PERSON THAT PRESENTED THAT ITEM? THE BUDGET ITEM TO COMMISSIONER? UM, THE INTEGRAL CARE FOLKS AND THEN LAURA PTO.
UM, IF, IF BUDGET IS SOMETHING WE COULD TALK ABOUT BECAUSE WE ARE CONNECTED THROUGH PROGRAMS, UH, THAT WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER.
AND IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE, WE CAN TALK ABOUT SINCE WE'RE ALL IN THAT PROCESS RIGHT NOW? YES.
YES, ON BUDGET, UM, FOR THE PARENT SUPPORT SPECIALIST, UM, FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS, I MIGHT CAN GO INTO THIS WITH ANYONE WHO WANTS TO GO INTO DETAIL.
UM, THE LEVEL OF FUNDING IS NOT WHERE IT WAS PRE COVID.
UM, THE GRANT REQUEST THAT CAME IN FROM AD WAS LOWER THAN PRE COVID.
UM, WE HAVE PUT, YOU KNOW, REQUEST THAT WE WOULD LIKE IT TO GO BACK UP TO PRE COVID LEVELS FROM THE CITY.
UM, BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THAT PROGRAM.
AND AS I UNDERSTAND IT, THAT PROGRAM ORIGINATED WITH THE CITY, YOU KNOW, FUNDING IT.
WHAT PROGRAM IS IT AGAIN? I'M MISSING PARENT SUPPORT SPECIALISTS.
UM, BUT SO FOR MY COLLEAGUES, UM, IN PARTICULAR, I'LL JUST FLAG THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SOME WORK TO DO ON SEEING IF WE CAN INCREASE THAT FUNDING AND IF THAT IS A NEED THAT A I S D HAS IN THE BUDGET PROCESS, WE NEED TO BE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS EARLY AND OFTEN.
BECAUSE THE, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE BALLS ARE NOT DROPPED AGAIN YEP.
ON THAT SO THAT WE CAN PROVIDE THE SUPPORTS TO, TO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, BUT I WOULD BENEFIT FROM HELP FROM OTHER FOLKS IN, IN KEEPING THAT MOVING FORWARD.
DO WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THAT B***H FOR OUR NEXT JSC IN AUGUST? YES, PROB YES.
SO, UM, AND THEN NEXT, WE DON'T HAVE A DATE YET FOR THE AUGUST MEETING, CORRECT.
NO, WE'RE POLLING, UH, MEMBERS FOR AUGUST THE 11TH OR AUGUST THE 18TH.
AND I THINK MAYBE YOU'VE GOTTEN AN EMAIL ABOUT THAT.
SO WE HAVE BUDGET, UH, I KNOW STEPHANIE 25TH.
I THINK YOU ALL ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF BUDGET ON THE AUGUST 11TH.
SO 25TH IS BUDGET TIME FOR US AS WELL AT THE COUNTY.
WELL, I THINK THAT'S, WE GOT THROUGH THE AGENDA, SO IS THERE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? MOVE? ALL RIGHT.
SO WE HAVE A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER SHAY, SECOND BY TRUSTEE SEPATA.
AND BARRING ANY OBJECTION, THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED.